Passenger Duct-taped to Airplane Seat After Trying to Break Into Cockpit
Drunk and unruly passengers are on the rise, which is why airlines are doing what they can to crack down on disruptive behavior – even if it means having to restrain some people.
According to Fox News, an unidentified passenger on an S7 Airlines flight from Mineralnye Vody to Novosibirsk, in Russia, had to be restrained after trying to break into the cockpit in order to “have a word” with the pilot. According to the Mirror, the man was tackled by fellow passengers and duct-taped to a seat in business class.
%image1
One passenger said he was “acting like a wild bear,” Fox News reported. The man appeared to be heavily drunk, according to the Mirror, which may have contributed to his odd and aggressive behavior.
According to Travel Pulse, the plane landed in Novosibirsk without any other problems. Once the plane landed, the man was taken into custody for “violating public order,” the Mirror reported. A spokesperson for the Interior Ministry told the Mirror, “Officers brought the man to the police station but he continued his wild behavior. He verbally abused the duty policemen and tried to attack them.”
The man could face up to five years in prison, according to Fox News. The Mirror reported there is footage of the man begging officers to release him, saying, “I remember nothing, absolutely nothing.”
New legislation to punish unruly passengers may go into effect in 2020 and be adopted by almost two-dozen countries. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), six out of 10 incidences involving unruly passengers actually go unpunished. IATA’s data also found that one out of every 1,053 flights had reports of unruliness in 2017, which is an increase from one out of every 1,424 flights in 2016.
