A drunk air passenger who forced a flight to divert to Dublin has avoided jail but was ordered to pay €10,000.
Zachary Greear urinated in the aisle of a United Airlines flight bound for New York and touched other passengers inappropriately, Dublin District Court heard. The flight from Amsterdam departed at 9.15am on Sunday.
The court heard that Greear, 34, who lives in New York City, grabbed the seats of two females and a maleand touched them inappropriately. He also urinated in his seat and the aisle and passengers around him had to be moved.
The plane was in the air for two hours and over the coast of Donegal when the captain decided to divert to Dublin due to the disruptive passenger.
It cost the airline €30,000 worth of fuel to divert and Greear was met by gardai on arrival at Dublin Airport and was arrested. When the plane landed it refuelled and managed to get back in the sky within an hour.
Greear pleaded guilty to intoxication, threatening, abusive or insulting behaviour and causing annoyance on board an aircraft.
The court heard that he was a “nervous flyer” and had mixed Xanax with alcohol before he became disruptive. His solicitor said he was “horrified and embarrassed” by his behaviour and offered a “most sincere apology”.
Judge Michele Finan imposed a two-month suspended sentence on Greear and ordered him to pay €5,000 to United Airlines and to donate €5,000 to charity.
For all the latest news from Dublin and surrounding areas visit our homepage.
Join our Dublin Live breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive your daily dose of Dublin Live content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.