Drunk men denied more alcohol launch into attack on England-bound flight, feds say
A drunken duo wreaked havoc onboard a transatlantic flight after being denied more alcohol, leading to an emergency landing in Maine, officials said. Both men could face up to 20 years in prison.
The pair, both 36-year-old British men, were passengers on a TUI Airways flight from Mexico to England on Jan. 2, according to a Feb. 2 news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maine.
Attorneys for the men could not be reached for comment by McClatchy News.
The men, who had been served alcoholic beverages, became agitated when the flight crew denied them any more alcohol, officials said.
In response, they fished out a “large bottle of alcohol from their carry-on luggage and continued to drink, becoming increasingly intoxicated,” officials said. They then became aggressive and used racial slurs.
At one point, one of the men assaulted a flight attendant and the other assaulted a fellow passenger, officials said.
The Federal Aviation Administration was notified that the men had “repeatedly interfered with members of the flight crew and flight attendants” while over U.S. airspace, according to the release.
Following multiple warnings from the captain, the plane made an emergency landing at Bangor International Airport in Maine, and several federal agencies, including the FBI, responded.
The unscheduled stop cost TUI Airways, a British charter company, $26,589, according to the release.
“The safety and security of our customers and crew is always our highest priority, and we have a zero tolerance policy to disruptive behaviour on our flights,” a spokesperson for the airline said in a statement provided to McClatchy News. “The customers involved were offloaded and the flight then continued its journey home shortly after.”
Both men pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to charges of interference with a flight crew and assault on Feb. 2, one month after the reported in-flight fiasco.
They face a maximum of 20 years in prison for the interference charge and up to a year in prison for the assault charge, officials said. Additionally, they could each have to pay up to $350,000 in fines.
They will be sentenced upon the completion of an investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.
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