ATLANTA — A Georgia grandmother is earning national praise after stepping in to stop an unruly passenger from storming the cockpit on a Delta flight.

Nicole Pruitt, a U.S. Army veteran and grandmother of seven, was on board the flight when chaos broke out. She told ABC News she acted out of concern for her safety and the safety of fellow passengers.

“I got her down on the ground. It wasn’t hard to do because I think she wasn’t even expecting it,” Pruitt recalled. “She was very strong, but my determination was even stronger.”

The FAA confirmed the woman on board was experiencing a medical emergency. The flight temporarily returned to Atlanta to remove the passenger before continuing on to its original destination in Tucson.

WSB’s Ashley Simmons contributed to this story