Man sentenced to probation for assault on Northwest Airlines flight

Airline Industry Information, Dec 1, 2004

AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION-(C)1997-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

A 48-year-old man has been sentenced to five years' probation by a court in Detroit after pleading guilty in June 2004 to assault on a flight from Japan to the US.

The man was travelling on a Northwest Airlines flight from Narita, Japan to Detroit in the US when after drinking whiskey he became disruptive and as he was being moved to the rear of the aircraft punched a passenger and struck a flight attendant. The aircraft was diverted to Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport where the passenger was removed.

The man was ordered to serve one year at a community corrections centre and to pay Northwest Airlines USD57,900 for the cost of the delay, fuel and crew. He was also ordered to write a letter to each of his fellow passengers apologising for the incident and an essay on the environmental impact of the fuel that had to be dumped by the aircraft so it could land safely, reports The Associated Press.

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