The Craziest Rock Star Meltdowns on a Plane of All Time

Soulja Boy (from left), Billy Joe Armstrong, and Clay Aiken have all committed airline faux pas while up in the air. (Photo: Jesse Grant/Getty Images for VH1; Kevin Mazur/WireImage; Kevin Mazur/WireImage)

By Jennifer Ceaser

We charted the 10 biggest flier freakouts of 2014, but it’s not just regular folks who act out on planes — rock stars are guilty, too.

In November, the lead singer of ’90s pop band the Cranberries, Dolores O’Riordan, one of the 10 richest women in Ireland, was arrested after assaulting a member of the crew on an Aer Lingus flight from New York to Shannon, then headbutting and spitting on a police officer who tried to detain her. It was unclear what set the frontwoman off, but witnesses claim to have seen her banging the plane’s ceiling and yelling, “I pay my taxes.”

Related: When Alec Baldwin Lost it on a Plane and Other Legendary Celeb Travel Meltdowns

Here are seven more musicians who’ve misbehaved while onboard.

Peter Buck

Peter Buck of R.E.M. (Photo: Scott Gries/Getty Images)

En route from Seattle to a concert to honor Nelson Mandela in London in 2001, the R.E.M. guitarist went on a bender aboard a British Airways flight, tossing yogurt at two crew members, knocking over a breakfast cart and trying to take a knife.

In a British courtroom, Buck claimed that a combination of a sleeping pill and wine had caused a reaction known as “non-insane automatism,” which means a person cannot be held responsible for their actions because they had no conscious knowledge of them. The guitarist was ultimately cleared of all charges, and British Airways welcomed the singer back onto any flight.

Liam Gallagher

Liam Gallagher (Photo: Matt Kent/WireImage)

The former Oasis singer will not be flying Cathay Pacific — ever again. The airline banned Gallagher after he and his 30-member band entourage “smoked, swore, and threw objects at staff and other passengers” aboard a Hong Kong-to-Perth flight during a 1998 Australian tour.

Airline spokesperson Chuck Fai Kwan told the press at the time: “Cathay Pacific has taken the decision to refuse any further carriage to Liam Gallagher and people known to have been causing a nuisance on the flight in question.” A shame, since the airline is consistently rated one of the best in the world.

Courtney Love

Courtney Love (Photo: Aurora Rose/Starpix)

It’s a wonder the volatile former Hole frontwoman and widow of Kurt Cobain is allowed to fly on any commercial airline — with not one, not two, but three incidents of bad behavior under her garter belt. In 1995, while flying from Melbourne to Brisbane, the star was arrested by Australian police after verbally abusing a Qantas flight attendant who asked the star not to put her feet on the bulkhead. She pleaded guilty to the charges. Then in April 2002, on an American Airlines flight from Austin to Dallas, Love passed out following a stint at South by Southwest and was taken off the plane in a wheelchair. “There was a commotion in the first-class section,” fellow airline passenger Bob Andrews told The Enquirer. “Courtney, wearing jeans and running shoes, was sprawled out unconscious.”

Related: Do They Serve Macadamia in Prison? Ex-Korean Air Exec Could Get 15 Years for ‘Nut Rage’

Less than a year later, in February 2003, Love was arrested at Heathrow Airport after the cabin crew on a Virgin Atlantic flight from Los Angeles complained that she had verbally abused them, refused to sit in her seat and would not put on her seat belt. Love admitted that she had “cussed at a lady” after the flight attendant refused to allow her friend to sit in first class with her. Still, Virgin CEO Richard Branson refused to ban her: “Courtney was a little out of it on the flight on the way over and apologized for her behavior. We are looking forward to flying her back. Perhaps our new slogan should be, ‘Rock stars swear by us,’ ” he told reporters.

Soulja Boy

Soulja Boy (Photo: Jesse Grant/Getty Images for VH1)

In August 2013, heavily tattooed Soulja Boy (who topped the charts with “Crank That”) was kicked off an American Airlines flight from Miami to Brazil for refusing to take his seat during pre-flight safety instruction, despite being repeatedly asked by flight attendants to do so. Armed guards escorted the Atlanta rapper off the plane. He later flew misbehaving-rock-star-friendly Virgin Airlines back from the Brazil concert:

(Image: Twitter)

He also apologized for his behavior; in a statement to TMZ, Soulja Boy said: “It was a bad night, and me and the flight staff didn’t see eye to eye. In hindsight, I’m extremely sorry for all inconvenience caused to the passengers and employees of the airline.”

Related: Air Rage Isn’t Our Fault: 7 Ways the Airlines Are Pitting Us Against Each Other

Izzy Stradlin

Izzy Stradlin (left) of Guns N’ Roses. (Photo: Kevin Kane/WireImage)

The former Guns N’ Roses guitarist lost his “patience” on a 1989 US Airways flight from Indianapolis to Los Angeles. Annoyed that the lavatory was occupied, Stradlin stated, “I’m not waiting any longer,” then unzipped his pants and peed in the galley area. He also was accused of verbally abusing the female cabin crew.

When the flight made a scheduled stop in Phoenix, the GN’R member was removed from the plane, arrested and charged by the FBI with interfering with the duties of the plane’s crew. Geffen Records publicist Bryn Bridenthal creatively cited the First Amendment as an excuse for Stradlin’s behavior: “Relieving himself in the galley was just his way of expressing himself.” The guitarist ended up pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge and had to write an apology letter to the US Airways crew.

Billy Joe Armstrong

Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day (Photo: Kevin Mazur/WireImage)

The Green Day frontman is in serious need of a wardrobe overhaul. At least according to a flight attendant on Southwest, who, on an Oakland-to-Burbank route in 2011, asked the singer to pull up his sagging pants. Armstrong, who was waiting to put his bag in the overhead bin when he was approached by the crew member, replied to the request: “‘Don’t you have better things to do than worry about that?”

According to a fellow passenger, an ABC-TV associate producer, who witnessed the entire argument, the flight attendant repeated: “Pull your pants up or you’re getting off the plane,” to which Armstrong said: “I’m just trying to get to my f - - king seat.” The singer was booted off the flight, though the airline later apologized for the incident.

(Image: Twitter)

Clay Aiken

Clay Aiken (Photo: Timothy Hiatt/Getty Images)

Before Aiken got into politics, the “American Idol” alum was quite an in-demand entertainer. And in July 2007, while on a Continental Airlines flight to Tulsa to perform at the Brady Theater, Aiken and another passenger clashed after he put his foot on her armrest and she retaliated by hitting the singer.

It was a serious enough incident that the FBI got involved. Aiken explained to “Entertainment Tonight”: “While sleeping on a plane over the weekend, my foot evidently found a home on the armrest of the passenger seated directly in front of me,” adding, “I didn’t realize I was causing the woman any distress until she woke me up with a quick hit to the chest.” No charges were filed.

More from New York Post:

Get turnt like a Republican on Georgia’s Sea Island

What’s new at 3 of Anguilla’s hottest properties

Russia, Chile and 3 other places to travel on the cheap right now

Let Yahoo Travel inspire you every day. Hang out with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.