Overview
- Passengers on a Delta red‑eye from Los Angeles to New York said the plane returned to the gate Tuesday, April 7, after crew could not get Natasha Lyonne to close her laptop or fasten her seat belt, delaying departure by about an hour.
- Witnesses reported she appeared disoriented and unresponsive before a staffer asked her to leave the aircraft, and the captain later told passengers a traveler had refused basic instructions.
- Lyonne wrote on X that she took the sleep aid Lunesta and claimed she was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement after deplaning, following an earlier post nodding to TSA and a missed Drew Barrymore taping.
- The Department of Homeland Security said Saturday that neither ICE nor TSA escorted or detained Lyonne, directly contradicting her account.
- Federal aviation rules let crews remove passengers who appear impaired for safety and require airlines to document such incidents, a framework that explains why the flight diverted back to the gate before takeoff.