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Home  >  Law In Travel  >  Drunken Brits Who Caused Flight Diversion To USA Released After Only Two Months In Jail
Law In Travel

Drunken Brits Who Caused Flight Diversion To USA Released After Only Two Months In Jail

Matthew Klint Posted onMarch 17, 2023March 16, 2023 9 Comments

TUI Maine Diversion

Two British citizens have been released from a US prison after pleading guilty to interfering with flight attendants and assault on a flight from Mexico to England that was forced to divert to the United States.

Brits Plead Guilty, Accept Fine To Avoid Longer Jail Sentence After Drunken Behavior Forced Flight Diversion

On January 2, 2023, a TUI flight from Cancun (CUN) to Manchester (MAN) took off with two drunk men onboard who were allegedly already intoxicated, Anthony Joseph James Kirby and Damien Jake Murphy.

After takeoff, the men became belligerent when denied more alcohol, then reportedly pulled out a large bottle of booze from their own carry-on bag to continue drinking. But it was more than just the illicit alcohol: the men were rowdy, making “racist” and “profane” comments toward other passengers and crew members (and apparently filming it as they were doing it). The FBI report notes:

“While the aircraft was over Florida, Kirby, Murphy and the third man made racist comments to the crew and passengers while filming their interactions with the crew and the other passengers with their cameras. The behavior caused the flight crew to change seats.”

The investigation revealed that Murphy assaulted a flight attendant while Kirby assaulted a passenger.

With the situation escalating rather than de-escalating, the captain elected to divert to Bangor, Maine (BGR) to offload the two Brits. Still visibly drunk, the men were laughing as they were escorted off the plane by six armed police officers. One allegedly got into a fistfight with another passenger.

Kirby and Murphy have sat in jail since the January 2nd incident, pleading guilty on February 2, 2023 to interference with a flight crew. Earlier this week, the two men were sentenced.

In what may be seen as a slap on the wrist, U.S. District Judge Lance E. Walker sentenced the men to time served and jointly fined them $26,589.12, the amount TUI requested in compensation for expenses incurred from the diversion.

CONCLUSION

Kirby and Murphy are out of jail and presumably on their way back to the United Kingdom after pleading guilty to interference with a flight crew and assault. The two spent roughly 2.5 months in prison and will be fined $26,589.12 collectively.

Is two months in jail and a measly fine a sufficient deterrent for drunken and disorderly behavior onboard that included assaulting both a passenger and a flight attendant?


> Read More: Flight Diverts After Drunken Passengers Pull Out Their Own Stash Of Alcohol, Serenade Cabin With Racist Profanity

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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9 Comments

  1. ed lewis Reply
    March 17, 2023 at 7:17 am

    the slammer time seenms about a month short. The fine is about $300,000 short.

  2. Santastico Reply
    March 17, 2023 at 8:29 am

    Too bad they were not jailed in Mexico. In 2 months there they would have been married and probably even have kids. LOL!!!

  3. Jan Reply
    March 17, 2023 at 9:49 am

    Peak hooligan energy vibes from those two.

  4. Paper Boarding Pass Reply
    March 17, 2023 at 12:51 pm

    An additional penalty should have placement on a NO FLY LIST. I’m should TUI has them on an in house roster, but why no a US list since the crime was recorded as a US violation. Should there be a constitutional challenge, how about a Know Air Service Risk tracking number. Required for several years depending on the severity of the violation.
    As a side note, how about some type of inebriation limit as airport lounges. Now that will cause an uproar!!! In the vast majority of situations, this is where the inebriation started.

  5. Jerry Reply
    March 17, 2023 at 1:52 pm

    I just don’t understand how the US had jurisdiction to prosecute them for a crime here. I’m not defending their actions, but I don’t see why they weren’t immediately extradited to the UK a day after the diversion. These people never intended to set foot in the US, yet went through the justice system here, took up resources, and ultimately paid a fine to the US Government (or State of Maine?).

    No US interests were negatively impacted by their state of intoxication, so it just feels very extrajudicial to me. We essentially punished them just because we could. I’m curious what the outcome would have been if the captain would have chosen to divert to YHZ. Would the Canadian Government (or Prov. of NS) have tried to prosecute them, or would they have just sent them on to Britain the next day to be charged.

    • Mike Reply
      March 18, 2023 at 11:21 am

      When in the air, it is the captain’s discretion to decide where to land the plane. Something happening on a plane will be dealt with by local authorities. If the on-ground altercation with a passenger happened, all the more reason to prosecute them under US law.

      International law gives nations the right to control their own airspace. Airspace in the US is controlled by the US and the diversion of the plane and arrests are within the captain’s rights.

  6. Right-This-Way Reply
    March 17, 2023 at 3:20 pm

    Hopefully they lost their jobs in the U.K. for such a long absence. Agree, NO FLY LIST – all airlines. It makes no sense to ban from one airline yet these lugheads can then just fly anyone else. We’re all sick of reading about these morons and all they trouble they cause for the airlines and other passengers.

  7. Steve Reply
    March 17, 2023 at 6:30 pm

    What are the sentencing guidelines for this offense?

  8. James hamilton Reply
    March 22, 2023 at 5:10 am

    Typical English shaming us.worst race on the planet,its embarrassing

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