There are two stories in one here. The first is how an inebriated man had a total meltdown on a flight, so bad that he had to be dragged off the flight by several cops. But the second story is his defense in court in trying to justify his actions…
An Insane Defense From A Drunk Passenger Who Cops Had To Drag Off Holiday Flight From England
It should come as no great surprise that the incident occurred on a Jet2 flight from Manchester (MAN) in England to Turkey. In fact, the plane never even pushed back from the gate before it became clear that one passenger, 36-year-old Lewis Howarth, was not fit to fly.
He boarded the plane intoxicated and began swearing at crewmembers and passengers around him. He pulled out a bottle of whiskey, took a swig, and called a flight attendant a “d*ckhead” when asked to fasten his seatbelt.
Children were onboard but that did not stop him from a foul-mouth tirade which only escalated when police showed up.
Being British, police asked him very nicely to leave the plane and then apologized that they would need to drag him off.
As they did, he screamed and yelled (as passengers applauded), calling the peace officers “little rats” among other insults.
He was booked and placed in jail…for 14 weeks.
This wasn’t his first offense (or offence as the Brits would say). Previous convictions included:
- affray (fighting in a public place)
- racially-aggravated harassment
- assaulting a police officer
- failing to comply with court orders
Ok, but here’s where it gets…even more pathetic. In court, he was asked to justify his conduct and his attorney (barrister) said that Howarth was “peer pressured into having a drink because he was nervous of flying.”
But the judge (recorder as they say in England in this kind of court) was having none of that and rebuffed that defense.
“This behaviour was shocking! There is no excuse for being drunk when you go on an airplane.
“Your children saw you behaving like that. What kind of example is that? Wholly disgraceful.
“Peer pressure? What nonsense!”
Maybe Jet2 could have done England a favor by transporting Horwath to Turkey but refusing transport back…
The very last sentence is very rough, lol.
You’re not kidding!
This dude really pulled a classic line from elementary school to try to get out of trouble
Dude looks like Chris Elliott from Cabin Boy with hair.
Yea I’m aging myself.
14 weeks is a nice little rehab for his liver.
I’m surprised he wanted to vacation in Turkey. Tampa, Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, Jacksonville, or Ft. Myers seems like a much better fit for him.
Thank you for mentioning the “correct” 🙂 spelling of offence. However I doubt that the judge/recorder said “airplane’, they would probably have said “aeroplane”.
Put him to death.
Flying him to Turkey and not returning him would not be fair to Turkey
He sounds like a cabinet pick for the Trump administration. Actually, he’s probably too polished and conventional for Trump.