A passenger flying first class with Delta Air Lines was arrested after being accused of getting drunk, forcibly kissing a male flight attendant, and breaking the tray and plates carrying the captain’s in-flight meal.
Based on court documents, the passenger, David Alan Burk, aged 61, from Texas, was onboard flight DL 517 from Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport (MSP) to Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC) on April 10, 2023.
The affidavit states that the flight had not even taken off when Burk made a request for red wine. First class passengers on Delta Air Lines are eligible for pre-departure drinks, however, the first class flight attendant, identified in the affidavit only as “T.C.,” told Burk that he “ran out of time” and was unable to serve Burk his drink.
At that point, Burk allegedly became “snippy” and T.C. made a point to immediately serve Burk the red wine as soon as service was allowed to resume after takeoff.
When T.C. later returned to collect meal trays from passengers, Burk reached out to shake his hand. The document alleges that 10 minutes later, Burk got up to use the lavatory, but first made a stop to the galley where T.C. was.
Burk then stood next to T.C. and allegedly told him, “Oh, you’re so beautiful”.
When T.C. politely said thank you to the passenger, Burk then asked, “Can I have a kiss?” T.C. replied: “No, thank you” to which Burk then said, “Okay, well on the neck then”.
The affidavit alleged that Burk then grabbed T.C. before pulling him near and purposefully kissing him on the neck.
According to the document, T.C. later told investigators that the incident made him very uncomfortable and that he was “caught off-guard”.
Following the incident, T.C. informed the other flight attendants what had happened and advised them that he did not want to return to the front of the plane until Burk had returned to his seat.
When T.C. saw that Burk was in his seat, he returned to the front of the plane, and the other flight attendants informed him that Burk “had just broken the tray and plate containing the captain of the plane’s meal, which had not been served yet”.
After being informed by T.C. of the entire incident, the flight’s captain alerted Airport Dispatch. Burk was identified as a security threat and security protocols were engaged.
When the plane landed in Anchorage, Burk was arrested and denied the incident when interviewed by police.
In a statement to FOX Business, the airline said: “Delta has no tolerance for inappropriate behavior on any of our aircraft or ground facilities. We are cooperating with law enforcement in this matter and thank the authorities for investigating and prosecuting unruly passenger conduct.”
