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Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford was traveling home earlier this week to Boston from Indianapolis when a passenger on the flight had a medical issue. Leaping to action, Dr. Stanford was questioned on her credentials by a pair of Delta flight attendants in what appears to be a classic case of alleged racial profiling.

The Boston Globe reports:

In a phone interview Wednesday, Stanford said she was flying from Indianapolis to Boston after a business meeting when the woman next to her started convulsing and hyperventilating. Stanford said her first instinct was to figure out how best to help the passenger.

However, she said, flight attendants questioned her identity and qualifications several times as she tried to calm the woman, even after she showed them her medical license more than once.

“I was trying to talk to her [the passenger] like she was my friend,” said Stanford, a Boston resident. “A lot of things were triggering for her, and my goal was to make her as calm as possible.”

In a statement Wednesday, Delta thanked Stanford for her medical assistance and apologized for “any misunderstanding” between her and the crew. “We are following up with the crew to ensure proper policy is followed,” the release said.

Stanford has used her Twitter account to address the incident and make a stand for others who have been racially profiled. Stanford’s employer, Massachusetts General Hospital praised her for both her poise and following stance.

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Photo: Getty