TABLOID TALES Passengers running amuck
Posted on 10/20/2015
There are three strange passengers tales today. A passenger bit another passenger then died. A man punched a flight attendant and then threatened to blow up the plane. And finally, a man was so incensed that the woman in the row ahead reclined her seat, he tried to choke her – and this before the plane even took off.
The Biter Police say a 24-year-old Brazilian man collapsed and died on board an Irish aircraft after becoming frenetic and attacking a fellow passenger. Sunday night's Aer Lingus flight from Lisbon, Portugal, to Dublin was diverted to the southwest Irish city of Cork, where paramedics pronounced the man dead on arrival. Passengers said he had bitten a man sitting near him and crew members sought to handcuff him before he lost consciousness. A doctor and nurse on board failed to revive him.
Cork police arrested a 44-year-old Portuguese woman travelling with the Brazilian man after discovering 2 kilograms (5 pounds) of suspected amphetamine powder in her suitcase. The bitten passenger was admitted to a Cork hospital, while the other 165 passengers and six crew members travelled by bus to Dublin. The Puncher
A man accused of punching a flight attendant and threatening to blow up a flight from New York City to Palm Beach Florida has been released on bond. Local news media report that 29-year-old Alija Kucuk was released Monday on $50,000 bail and must wear a GPS ankle monitor. Kucuk was on a JetBlue flight Thursday from John F. Kennedy International Airport to Palm Beach International Airport. Witnesses say Kucuk ran down the aisle, pushed two flight attendants and punched a third. The witnesses say Kucuk also threatened to blow up the plane.
Kucuk, of Queens, New York, was charged with interfering with a flight attendant and threatening to destroy an aircraft. Arraignment is planned Oct. 30. The Choker A Southwest Airlines jetliner was forced to return to the gate at Los Angeles International Airport Sunday without taking off after a fight between passengers that was allegedly sparked by seat reclining.
San Francisco-bound Flight 2010 with 137 passengers on board, left the gate at about 10.25pm Sunday. About 15 minutes later, when the aircraft was on the taxiway, police got a call about a disturbance on board. The plane was ordered to return to the gate. The FBI took over after the flight was recalled. According to eyewitnesses interviewed by NBC News, one of the travellers attempted to recline her seat back just before takeoff, sparking an altercation with a man seating directly behind her.
The male passenger allegedly began choking the woman in front of him, prompting her to call for help. Southwest Airlines later released a statement saying the plane had to be turned around due to a 'rapidly escalating situation.' The FBI confirmed that one person was taken in for questioning, but no arrests were made. The remaining 136 passengers were transferred to another aircraft and arrived in San Francisco early Monday morning, about five hours later, according to CNN. Seat reclining has been the subject of much debate in the media over the past year. Some air travellers unwilling to be inconvenienced by fellow passengers have resorted to using a highly controversial gadget called Knee Defender that locks the seat in front in position, preventing it from reclining.