• Home
  • Reviews
    • Flight Reviews
    • Hotel Reviews
    • Lounge Reviews
    • Trip Reports
  • About
    • Press
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Award Expert
Live and Let's Fly
  • Home
  • Reviews
    • Flight Reviews
    • Hotel Reviews
    • Lounge Reviews
    • Trip Reports
  • About
    • Press
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Award Expert
Home » SWISS » Split Decision: Mother Found Guilty Of Beating SWISS Pilot While Grandma Walks…
Law In TravelSWISS

Split Decision: Mother Found Guilty Of Beating SWISS Pilot While Grandma Walks…

Matthew Klint Posted onMarch 6, 2020March 6, 2020 4 Comments

SWISS Pilot Assault

Earlier this week I shared about the mother-daughter duo who were arrested for assaulting a SWISS Air captain over a hand baggage disagreement. A London court just adjudicated the case.

Henrietta Mitaiare, 23, and Mary Roberts, 53, were traveling from Zurich (ZRH) to London (LHR) last May with Mitaiare’s child. Upon boarding, Mitaiare was informed she could not take her baby stroller onboard and would need to check it at the door of the aircraft. Upon landing, she began arguing with the captain and eventually lunged at him, with her mother allegedly joining in the kerfuffle as well. More details here.

Both were arrested for assault and pleaded non-guilty in a London court. Mitaire claimed she merely acted in self-defense after the captain tried to wrestle her phone out of her hand when she began recording the discussion. The captain denied this.

District Judge Deborah Wright found no malfeasance on the part of the captain, finding any contact on his side was “trying to protect himself from a very loud and very angry woman who had refused to leave the plane”.

Roberts did not like the whole proceeding, interrupting at one point to shout in the courtroom:

“Adolf Hitler is ruling England! Mussolini is ruling England!”

Her tirade prompted a rebuke and removal from the courtroom.

That certainly endears sympathy…

Addressing Mitaire after finding her guilty, Judge Wright said:

“You behaved in a way that was completely unacceptable and caused significant injury and the whole thing was caused, in effect, because you could not take your buggy on to the plane with you.

“When you were asked to leave the plane, instead of being sensible and saying ‘I will make my complaint at a later stage’, you escalated matters.”

“The court heard that the assault caused the following flight to be cancelled.

“A significant number of people were inconvenienced and you caused distress to the staff who had to deal with the incident on the day in question.”

Mitaire was given a four-month sentence for assault by beating, though Judge Wright suspended the sentence for one year. She’ll now have to respect a curfew, being home each night between 7:00 PM and 7:00 AM. She was also ordered to pay £2,615, which includes:

  • £1,500 court costs
  • £115 surcharge
  • £1,000 compensation to the SWISS Captain

This must be paid immediately or she will serve three additional months in prison.

Roberts, meanwhile, was acquitted. She claimed she tried to “break up” the flight and did not contribute to it. She was given the benefit of the doubt even though the captain and purser provided testimony she attacked as well.

CONCLUSION

The monetary damages seem rather low if SWISS was actually forced to cancel the return flight to Zurich on account of the attack. Nevertheless, hopefully the four-month sentence and £2,615 (~$3,390) fine will serve as a deterrent…to attacking a captain over checking a baby stroller.


> Read More: SWISS Pilot Attacked By Mother-Daughter Duo…Over Baby Stroller

Get Daily Updates

Join our mailing list for a daily summary of posts! We never sell your info.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Previous Article Want To Hang Out With Me In Washington, DC This Weekend? (FTU)
Next Article Finnair Platinum Wing: One Of World’s Best Airport Lounges

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.

Related Posts

  • makeup artist meltdown Southwest flight

    Makeup Artist’s Viral Meltdown On Southwest Flight Is Anything But Glamorous

    June 21, 2025
  • a row of seats in an airplane

    If You Abuse Company Travel Policy, Expect To Be Fired!

    June 16, 2025
  • airlines selling passenger data

    Airlines Sold Passenger Data To Border Patrol, Then Tried To Hide It

    June 11, 2025

4 Comments

  1. YoniPDX Reply
    March 6, 2020 at 1:50 pm

    So where was the baby that would have been using the Pram -that had to be gate checked – seems that if she was traveling with a child she could pre-board and had first dibs on closet or overhead space.

    The fine is indicative of what’s so wrong with the legal system and fines today – the court fine £1,500 was the lion share of the fine.

    -Seems that only people that are behaving badly in public are the ones that are so opposed to being recorded.

    The defendant’s barrister pointed out without objection that flight crew authority
    ends once the plane is at the gate – (i.e. directing her to not video – this was at deplaning not boarding ).

  2. r m h Reply
    March 6, 2020 at 10:23 pm

    ??

    “Roberts did not like the whole proceeding, interrupting at one point to ~~should~~ in the courtroom:”

  3. Christian Reply
    March 6, 2020 at 11:41 pm

    A slap on the wrist. If the woman was put on a lifetime no-fly list for Europe, maybe she’d learn a lesson and other people would avoid acting in a similar fashion.

    • Steve Reply
      March 7, 2020 at 5:28 pm

      That would be the least they could have given her. I hope she at least got a lifetime ban on Swiss Intl. And the £1000 for the captain is an insult.

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Search

Hot Deals for June

Note: Please see my Advertiser Disclosure

Capital One Venture X Business Card
Earn 150,000 Miles Sign Up Bonus
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Earn 100,000 Points
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
Earn 75,000 Miles!
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Earn 75,000 Miles
Chase Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
Earn $750 Cash Back
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
Earn 120,000 Membership Reward® Points

Recent Posts

  • JetBlue Madrid
    The JetBlue Mosaic Challenge And Why I Can’t Pass It Up June 22, 2025
  • PLAY Airlines Iceland
    Southwest’s (Possible) European Expansion Another Misstep June 22, 2025
  • hot air balloon crash brazil
    Tragic: Shocking Footage Of A Fatal Hot Air Balloon Accident June 22, 2025
  • makeup artist meltdown Southwest flight
    Makeup Artist’s Viral Meltdown On Southwest Flight Is Anything But Glamorous June 21, 2025

Categories

Popular Posts

  • Qatar Airways Economy Class Breakfast
    Economy Class Breakfast On Qatar Airways June 7, 2025
  • Favorite Airline Commercials
    My 10 Favorite Airline Commercials June 15, 2025
  • Qantas Lounge Review Hong Kong
    Review: Qantas Lounge Hong Kong (HKG) June 14, 2025
  • Israel Flight Cancellations
    Major Carriers Extend Flight Cancellations To Israel: Here’s The List June 6, 2025

Archives

June 2025
M T W T F S S
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
30  
« May    

As seen on:

facebook twitter instagram rss
Privacy Policy © Live and Let's Fly All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Live and Let's Fly with appropriate and specific directions to the original content.