Drunk pilot threatens to blow up aircraft

Suspect who was off-duty hurled abuses, assaulted stewardess and damaged a TV screen and window

An off-duty pilot got drunk, threatened to blow up an aircraft and assaulted a stewardess, a court heard yesterday.

A Romanian stewardess encountered the off-duty Emirati pilot, 27, who was drunk and behaved rowdily in June on an Emirates flight from Madrid to Dubai.

Trouble started as crew members were embarking passengers and the plane was getting ready for departure, according to records, when the Emirati pilot, a passenger on board, asked the stewardess if smoking was allowed on the aircraft.

Shortly after being seated, the man allegedly cursed other passengers, insulted and assaulted the stewardess and grabbed two beers without the crew members’ permission and consumed more liquor.

When crew members tried to talk him into behaving properly and to refrain from using foul language, the Emirati behaved rudely with a passenger. The stewardess then restrained him with a plastic handcuff. Once he was restrained in his seat, the Emirati turned more aggressive and shouted loudly that he would blow up the plane with explosives that he allegedly had on him. The man was also said to have banged his head repeatedly on the TV screen in front of him, destroying it, and damaged a window. He also threatened to chase the stewardess to her house and kill her.

Police apprehended the suspect after the plane landed at Dubai International Airport. Prosecutors charged the suspect with inebriation, behaving rowdily aboard an aircraft and threatening its safety and that of the passengers.

He was additionally charged with threatening to kill the stewardess, cursing crew members and passengers and causing Dh10,000 worth of damage to Emirates’ property [TV screen and window].

Prosecutors said the suspect endangered the flight’s safety and that of the passengers when he alleged that he was carrying explosives that he threatened to detonate while the plane was in flight. He also struck the stewardess in the chest.

The suspect pleaded guilty at the Dubai Court of First Instance yesterday. He asked presiding judge Fahd Al Shamsi to adjourn the case until he hired a lawyer.

The stewardess told prosecutors that the suspect started misbehaving when boarding started at the Madrid airport.

“He asked me if smoking was allowed, and I said no. A few hours after take-off, he ran towards the aircraft’s kitchen, took two beers without permission … shouted, and cursed. He also threatened to kill me … and claimed that he would blow up the plane because he was carrying explosives... A passenger assisted me in restraining the suspect, who banged his head on the TV screen,” she said.