On Sunday, a Delta Air Lines flight from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to New York JFK Airport took an eventful turn when US actress Selma Blair reportedly lashed out at the service’s cabin crew, prompting her to be restrained on board. She was subsequently arrested upon her arrival in New York City, where she is then said to have kicked a police officer in the head and assaulted a nurse.

Representatives for the 54-year-old, who appeared in the film ‘Legally Blonde’ 25 years ago, have blamed a medical emergency for having caused Blair’s erratic actions. She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis back in 2018, and was reportedly missing her medication at the time of her outburst on the flight. Nonetheless, as she was able to be restrained, the flight did not have to divert, and landed early.

Blair’s Representatives Claim She Experienced A Medical Emergency

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According to coverage of the incident by Page Six, Blair’s erratic antics took place on Delta Air Lines flight DL938 from Los Angeles to New York on Sunday, October 11. Her representatives claimed that she had had a long day on set and was missing her medication at the time of her outburst, causing her to “experience a medical emergency that led to the alleged conduct.” Two cabin crew were injured.

Of these, one is said to have been punched, and the other was bitten, leaving a mark, with one having to be taken to hospital. Blair was also taken to hospital on arrival in New York, but not before she had kicked a police officer in the head. She is also said to have assaulted a nurse at the hospital, and thus faces two counts of assault as well as a separate charge for her on-plane antics. Delta Air Lines said that:

“Delta has zero tolerance for unruly or unlawful behavior, as the safety of our customers and crew always comes first. (…) Law enforcement responded upon the flight’s arrival at JFK.”

The Flight Arrived Early Despite Blair’s Antics

Credit: Simple Flying

Shockingly, this is not the first time that Blair has had to be removed from a flight, with the actress having also been the subject of an onboard incident back in June of 2016. As Page Six reported at the time, she was taken off on a stretcher upon the service’s arrival at LAX, having caused a disturbance after mixing alcohol with prescription medication. She was flying home from Cancun at the time.

In any case, as alarming as Sunday’s incident was, Delta Air Lines managed not to let it impact the punctuality of flight DL938, with a spokesperson for the carrier saying that there was “no operational impact to the flight as the flight landed ahead of schedule at JFK.” Data from Flightradar24 shows that the service, operated by a Boeing 767-300ER, took off at 3:42 PM, just after its planned 3:25 PM departure.

However, by the time it arrived in the ‘Big Apple,’ it was some 25 minutes ahead of schedule, touching down at 11:17 PM as opposed to its planned 11:42 PM arrival after spending four hours and 35 minutes in the air. This was faster than any other DL938 in the preceding seven days, but, on Monday, the flight went even quicker, taking just four hours and 22 minutes and landing some 50 minutes ahead of schedule.

LAX To JFK Is A Key Transcontinental Corridor For Delta

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DL938 is far from the only daily flight that Delta operates on the transcontinental corridor from Los Angeles to New York JFK. Using this Tuesday as an example, it is actually one of nine rotations on the route, with most being daytime departures. However, two operate overnight, with DL960 and DL915 respectively leaving at 9:00 PM and 11:55 PM and arriving at 05:17 AM and 08:16 AM the next day.

Naturally, Delta Air Lines also faces considerable competition on this corridor. According to data from Cirium, an aviation analytics company, there will be 29 departures from LAX to JFK on Tuesday, October 13, with Delta’s nine rotations joined by ten apiece from American Airlines and JetBlue. Elsewhere in the New York area, United will fly ten times from LAX to Newark (EWR), with one rotation apiece from Alaska Airlines and JetBlue on this busy transcontinental corridor.