Pilot who threatened to blow up plane jailed for 1 year in Dubai

He intentionally caused damage to a seat and the cover of a window. The damage was estimated at Dh10,324.

A pilot, who was off-duty when he caused disturbance on board of a flight and threatened that he had explosives, was sentenced to one year in jail on Wednesday by the Dubai Court of First Instance.
According to the public prosecution records, the 27-year-old Emirati pilot was travelling as a passenger on a flight from Madrid to Dubai when he started behaving erratically. The man assaulted a stewardess and caused her to fall down. He was then under the influence of alcohol. The off-duty pilot was found guilty of compromising the safety of a flight and the passengers, assaulting and verbally abusing the crew, making criminal threats, damaging public property and consuming alcohol without a licence. He was also accused of insulting other passengers.  
The incident, which was reported to the police at the Dubai International Airport, took place on June 1.
He intentionally caused damage to a seat and the cover of a window. The damage was estimated at Dh10,324.
A British service manager at the airport said she alerted the police about an assault and damage incident on June 1. "The police went to the arrival gate and the defendant was handcuffed and taken into custody."
A Romanian flight attendant said the defendant did not look sober when he boarded the plane. "Few hours into the flight, he started causing disturbance. He would call for us and then make insults. He would run to the kitchen to bring beer. The man also insulted other passengers."
The witness recounted how he stood on his seat and talked in a wrong way to a passenger. "As I stopped him from taking his shoe off and tossing it, he slapped me on the chest, causing me to fall down.
"A passenger helped me handcuff him and made him stay in his seat. He then claimed that he had a bomb and would blow the plane off. He almost hurt himself while trying to remove the cuffs. He verbally abused me and the crew members and the passengers."
The witness added that the accused also threatened that he would chase and kill her. "He kept yelling, threatening and insulting us until the arrival. The passengers got very scared and disturbed over his behaviour."
The defendant also banged his head against the movie monitor screen, saying that he would tell the police that the crew assaulted him, the witness said.
mary@khaleejtimes.com