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Man accuses Delta flight attendant of slapping him
Delta Air Lines faces a massive legal showdown after an alleged slap in the sky. The man says the incident started with his wife asking for water for one of his young kids, which he says the flight attendant refused to provide. He says he then asked the crew member himself. Delta says it is looking into the incident and the crew member has been suspended while it investigates.
ATLANTA - A passenger says he was struck by a flight attendant on a cross-country flight last month and his attorneys now want $20-million from Delta, or they say they'll sue.
The backstory:
The man at the center of this says it was humiliating to be slapped by a flight attendant in front of one of his kids.
Mohammad Shibli says his July 29th flight between Atlanta and Fresno included a slap from a flight attendant. He says the incident started with his wife asking for water for one of his young kids, which he says the flight attendant refused to provide. He says he then asked the crew member himself.
"The Delta attendant again refused, using a very disrespectful tone," he said.
Shibli says he then went to a different flight attendant who provided the water and then apologized.
He says once back in his seat, the same crew member who refused to provide the water offered him a drink, which he refused. He says he was shocked by what happened a short time later.
"The Delta flight attendant then leaned closer to my ear and whispered a very vulgar word to me," Shibli said.
Shibli says he then stood up and responded with a few bad words.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The attorneys have not released the exact "vulgar" words said by the flight attendant or Shibli's response.
"It was at that time the Delta attendant took a few steps towards me and struck me with an open palm as hard as she could," Shibli said.
According to an affidavit provided by Shibli’s attorneys, a passenger sitting nearby says they "heard a very loud smack sound." When they turned around there was arguing and the woman was yelling "‘you don’t get to call me that’, so it was pretty clear to me that she was the one who struck him."
Attorneys say Shibli is a Palestinian Muslim and his wife was wearing a Palestine shirt on the flight.
His lawyers have two demands: every employee must receive sensitivity training about Palestine and a day's worth of Delta’s profit – which they say is $20 million.
Shibli’s attorneys say the FBI is involved, but when FOX 5 reached out to the agency it said it could not confirm nor deny an investigation.
Shibli’s lawyers say Delta has 30 days to respond before they will file a lawsuit.
What they're saying:
"No one should ever experience physical abuse like this," Shibli said.
Shibli’s attorneys say they were in disbelief about what happened.
"When I first heard this story, I thought 'there's no way'," said Ali Awad, Founder and Managing Attorney of the CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm.
Awad says the airline should pay for what happened.
"They're not doing enough to protect their passengers," he said. "They’re not doing enough to train their employees."
The other side:
Delta says it is looking into the incident and the crew member has been suspended while it investigates.
The airline released this statement: "As the safety and security of our customers and employees comes before all else, Delta launched an immediate internal investigation into this incident. While Delta does not comment on internal investigations or pending litigation, we are taking this situation very seriously. This flight attendant has been suspended while the investigation is ongoing."
The Source: Information in this article came from FOX 5's Tyler Fingert attending a press conference where the demands were announced.