Melanie Pratt (NCIS: New Orleans)

Melanie Pratt (Sumalee Montano) is the main villainess from "Touched by the Sun," episode 2.03 of NCIS: New Orleans (airdate October 6, 2015). She is the jet contractor for Curtwell Industries and a liaison of the U.S. Navy. Melanie was shown at the scene of a plane crash that killed war hero and pilot Lt. Lindsay Pratt.
It was later revealed that Melanie had been cost cutting; ordering coupling from a foreign manufacturing plant that didn't adhere to U.S. military specs. The parts were riddled with mercury, which caused the plane that Lindsay was flying to be poisoned. Lindsay felt the effects of the mercury for three to four months, which led to her fatal crash. Following Lindsay's death, the evil Melanie covered up her callous cost cutting by claiming that the plane was clean and pinning the blame on Lindsay.
A plane flown by Navy Lt. Val Franco had the same poisoned parts, and he was also feeling the effects as he attempted to prove that Lindsay didn't cause the crash. Following Franco's hospitalization, Sebastian found the part that was faulty, and that ended up revealing Melanie's indirect role in Lindsay's death. Pride confronted the villainous businesswoman with the evidence, with Melanie responding that she had no idea that the part would be faulty. Pride responded that Melanie had no idea it would be safe either, and that her selfish cost cutting ended up killing an American hero. Melanie was assumingly arrested (off-screen) for her role in Lindsay's death, as well as the endangerment of Franco's life.
== Trivia ==
* Sumalee Montano also appeared on Bones as the evil Alexandra Combs.
* Sumalee Montano's villainous characters from Bones and NCIS: New Orleans share similarities. Both were unscrupulous businesswomen who indirectly caused deaths for profit, with the difference being that Alexandra Combs was in the medical field, while Melanie Pratt was involved in military affairs. While it can be inferred that Alexandra was fully aware that the bone grafts were cancerous, Melanie claimed that she couldn't have known that the coupling was poisonous.
==Gallery==
Melanie Pratt 2.jpg
Melanie Pratt 3.jpg
Category:2010s
Category:Brunette
Category:Business Suit
Category:Business Villainess
Category:Callous
Category:Deceiver
Category:Live Action Villainess
Category:Murderer
Category:Murder: Indirect
Category:Villainous Reveal
Category:Fate: Inconclusive