Jailed for two years, drunk passenger who triggered RAF alert by trying to open jet door
A DRUNKEN passenger who tried to open the door of a plane midway through a holiday flight while yelling ‘I’m going to kill you all’ was yesterday jailed for two years.
Cabin crew and fellow passengers fought to restrain Chloe Haines, and two RAF Typhoon fighter jets were scrambled to escort the plane back to Stansted, where she was arrested.
She later said that she ‘blacked out and didn’t really remember what happened’ after mixing alcohol with medication, prosecutor Michael Crimp said.
Haines, 26, of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to endangering the safety of an aircraft and assaulting cabin crew member Charley Coombe on the Jet2 flight.
Miss Coombe suffered scratches as she tried to prevent Haines from opening the plane door, Chelmsford Crown Court heard.
Judge Charles Gratwicke said: ‘Those that are trapped in the confined space of the aircraft will inevitably be distressed, frightened and petrified by the actions of those who in a drunken state endanger their lives.
‘For some it will be their worst nightmare come true.’
Haines, dressed in a white shirt and black dress, sobbed through much of the hearing. She has already been sent a bill for £86,000 by Jet2 to cover the cost of the disruption.
The court heard that Haines stood up 25 minutes into the flight to Dalaman in Turkey on June 22 and threatened cabin crew.
As matters escalated, she ‘lunged’ at a door handle on the Airbus 321, which had 206 people on board. Haines said ‘I want to die’ and ‘I’m going to kill you all’ as cabin crew and passengers restrained her, pinning her to the floor.
‘She continued to shout in a similar way,’ said Mr Crimp. ‘She was kicking and punching. One of the passengers later told police that he really feared she would open the door and said, “I honestly thought I was going to die”.’
Steve Brown, from Romford, east London, was one of those who pinned Haines to the floor. ‘She bolted to the front of the plane and threw one stewardess from one side of the aisle to the other,’ he said later. ‘Another was clinging on to her but lost her grip and the woman ran towards the door.
‘She was punching, kicking and screaming at the stewards, they were trying to stop her but they had no chance.
She was only petite but she had the strength of a fullygrown man.’
The court heard that a passenger had seen her drinking from a bottle in the overhead locker, and a 200ml bottle of gin was later found in a duty-free bag with around a quarter of its contents gone. Haines had also been drinking in the airport.
Mr Crimp said it was impossible to open the exit door mid-flight but many passengers did not know this.
He said the risk arose from the fact that all the cabin crew were dealing with the incident, leaving them unable to deal with any further emergency or to be briefed by the pilot. He added that the RAF jets were sent ‘in error’.
Seventeen days before the incident, Haines had been convicted of a drink-driving offence and assaulting an emergency worker. The court heard that she is unemployed with no savings and would be unable to pay Jet2’s bill.
Oliver Saxby, QC, defending, said Haines has been diagnosed with mental health problems and has not touched alcohol since the day of the incident. ‘She wasn’t just drunk, she was unwell,’ he said.
He added: ‘She’s appalled, she’s ashamed, she’s deeply embarrassed by what she did. She’s disgusted with herself.’
He said Haines goes to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings up to four times a week.
She wept as she was led to the cells. No compensation order was imposed.
‘Kicking and screaming’