Man fined £300 for threatening Aer Lingus pilot
Dublin District Court has fined a man £300 in connection with an ‘air rage’ incident on an Aer Lingus flight from Manchester to Dublin earlier this year.
Brian Pepper, 27, originally from Dundalk, Co Louth, but now living in Manchester, threatened to assault a pilot who ordered him to stop using his mobile phone during the flight.
Mr Pepper was convicted of threatening and abusive behaviour in his absence last month. Sentencing was adjourned until today to give the defendant an opportunity to appear before the court.
The presiding judge, Conal Gibbons, said Mr Pepper acted in “an arrogant and extraordinary way” after being asked to switch off his mobile phone soon after the plane had left Manchester.
Even after he was persuaded to do so, cabin staff noticed that was using a laptop computer and he was asked to switch that off too.
When the flight arrived in Dublin, the pilot saw that Mr Pepper had switched his phone back on and challenged him about it.
Mr Pepper then raised his fist and said: “I will do something I might regret. I will rip your head off.” At the request of the judge, Mr Pepper apologised to the pilot.
