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Buildertrend employee fired for calling Delta attendant n-word, disrupting flight with co-workers

Passengers on the flight said a group of maskless drunk people entered the plane and continued to be unruly, with many wearing masks bearing the Buildertrend logo

An employee of Omaha-based tech company Buildertrend has been fired following an incident that allegedly involved a Delta Airlines flight attendant being called the n-word after asking a group of passengers to wear face masks. The unidentified employee was dismissed after he and his coworkers disrupted the flight on Monday, February 7. Many passengers of the Omaha-to-New York flight took to Twitter and tagged the company, which then took the step.

Dan Houghton, CEO of Buildertrend, said, “Based on actions that do not align with Buildertrend’s values and standards of conduct, one employee has been terminated.” He also apologized on Wednesday, stating, "We sincerely apologize to the passengers and employees of Delta Air Lines; to our employees and customers; our partners in business and philanthropy; and to the communities we serve." Dan addressed the n-word slur indirectly by saying, "The frustration, disgust and concern that many have expressed in the wake of this incident. This behavior does not reflect our values we hold as a company,"

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Passengers on the flight said a group of maskless drunk people entered the plane and continued to be unruly, with many wearing masks bearing the Buildertrend logo. A Black flight attendant went to the back of the plane to engage with the passengers but subsequently returned "quite scared," according to Laura Austin, who was a passenger on the plane.

She said, "She told us that she asked some people to put their masks on, and someone called her the N-word.” Moreover, Laura took to Twitter and wrote, “I was also on this flight. These individuals were drunk, disrespectful, and took racist aim at our flight attendant. They also disrupted the lives of everyone on the plane. @Delta your people impress me, flight after flight 👏🏼 sadly, @Buildertrend your people did not.” 

A Delta spokesperson, in a statement, said that the flight was forced to return to the gate in Omaha "due to unruly customers," who were removed before the flight eventually made an uneventful journey to LaGuardia Airport.

"All customers were deplaned for their safety, and the flight later continued safely to LaGuardia after the unruly customers were removed from the flight. Delta has zero tolerance for unruly behavior at our airports and on our flights, as nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and flight crews. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have had for our remaining customers," the spokesperson said.

Omaha Airport Authority Police said four members of the Buildertrend group were "extremely cooperative" after being forced off the flight and allowed to book different fights. No charges were filed.

Other passengers apart from Laura also took to Twitter and expressed their disgust. One user wrote, “Just had to de-board a flight home from Omaha due to 15-20 employees of @Buildertrend being drunk, not following any kind of on-plane rule and culminating with one of them directing a shout of ‘fucking n-word’ at a @Delta employee who asked them to put their mask on.”