Nicole Pruitt, fondly known as “Mama Nicky,” has been branded a hero for potentially saving everyone’s life on her Delta trip from Atlanta to Tucson by taking command of a tense situation, as seen in a viral video.
The video, originally posted on TikTok by user @amorfatitestlab, shows a Black woman standing over a white woman whose arms are bound behind her back with a makeshift restraint. The technique is known as the hogtie.
The passengers on the video claim that the white woman tried to open the cockpit and emergency exit doors as she ran from the back of the aircraft to the front.
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In a subsequent video that Pruitt’s son Tyrique Perry also shared, he claims that his mother, seated in first class, gave the traveler “an a–– whupping she won’t forget.”
According to Perry, the disruptive passenger attempted to break into the cockpit and open the emergency exit doors during the flight.
The woman allegedly “overpowered the stewards,” while male passengers were hesitant to intervene. The woman could be heard shouting, “God will protect me” and “The Lord is my Shepherd.”
According to Perry, his mother eventually “had to take matters into her own hands to protect herself and all the other passengers on board.”
Pruitt, a retired United States Army officer who resides in Arizona, was prepared for situations like these.
“This chick came all the way from the— back,” Pruitt recalled on the TikTok video.
She continued, “She said, I don’t want to be on the plane. God got my … What has she said? She said, I have a calling and God told me to do it….God tell you to do what? You are there to find out… No, I want this f— and find out.”
She continued, “I had an earpiece in my ear. I put that— in my little seat pocket right there. ‘Please. Excuse me,’ I said. I’m gonna beat her a— right now.”
The 26-year veteran later told 13 News, “Nobody else was doing nothing, so I just knew I had to do something. I’ve got to make it home to my kids, my children, my grandchildren.”
At the time of the incident, Pruitt was heading to Arizona from her home in Georgia to meet her new grandson.
Perry added, “Those are kids on that plane that have a whole life to live, those are grandparents on that plane, just people full of life and potential.”
Although the passenger’s motives were unclear, many feel Pruitt prevented a terrorist act or threat.
As reported by FOX 5 Atlanta, a Delta flight from Atlanta to Tucson, Flight 937, was forced to return to Hartsfield-Jackson after a passenger caused an emergency mid-air.
According to a Delta representative, the flight crew decided to turn the jet around and return to Atlanta after the plane had been in the air for almost an hour on July 16 due to a customer’s “situation.”
When the plane touched down in Atlanta, emergency medical personnel were waiting for it. Law enforcement was notified, but the individual was not arrested. Delta later resumed the trip to Tucson, arriving over three hours later than scheduled.
The plane carried 180 people, including crew members and pilots.
“Delta sincerely appreciates the actions of our crew and customers for de-escalating this situation,” stated airline spokesperson Samantha Moore Facteau in a statement.
Meanwhile, many netizens believe that Mama Nicky must be honored for her bravery.
One person wrote, “Your mom is a hero! They should give her free delta flights for life for saving everyone.”
Another noted, “As a flight attendant the one place people shouldn’t be a bystander is on the airplane. It’s literally life or death, if the crew is asking for help. HELP!”
Another suggested, “Come on Delta! She needs life time first class tickets!!!!! She LITTERALLY saved everyone!!”
