New York-to-Florida flight grounded after fight over reclining seat

JACKSONVILLE (WABC) -- An argument between two passengers caused the pilot of a Delta flight from New York to Florida to make an unscheduled landing.

The LaGuardia-to-West Palm Beach Flight 2370 was diverted to Jacksonville after taking off around 7 p.m. Monday.

Eyewitnesses say the trouble began when a passenger who was sleeping on a tray table became angry when the woman in front of her reclined the seat.

"The flight attendant came over, and that just exasperated what was going on, and then she demanded that the flight land," one passenger said. "She said something to the effect of, 'I don't care about the consequences, put this plane down now.'"

But 32-year-old Amy Fine of Boca Raton tells authorities she wasn't aggressive, just emotional over the death of her two dogs.

The flight landed in Jacksonville, where the woman was taken into police custody. Passengers went on to West Palm Beach a few hours later. The airport authority report says Fine wasn't arrested and was allowed to go home in a rental car.

Delta issued the following statement:

"Delta Flight 2370 from New York-LaGuardia to West Palm Beach was re-routed to Jacksonville International Airport due to a passenger disruption. Out of an abundance of caution, the captain elected to divert to the closest airport. Local law enforcement met the flight and removed the passenger. The aircraft continued to West Palm Beach arrived at 11:13 p.m. We apologize for the inconvenience to customers."