Honeymooner attacks, threatens to shoot cabin crew
A woman flying to her honeymoon instead wound up in court after she locked herself in an aeroplane toilet and threatened cabin crew on a flight to London.
Former air stewardess, American Brie Ann Johnson, 35, had been drinking wine on top of her anti-anxiety medication Zanax when she locked herself in the business class toilet, the Daily Mail reported.
Johnson was flying from New York to London for her honeymoon on August 3 and received a suspended prison sentence after pleading guilty to being drunk on an aircraft and assaulting British Airways cabin crew members Craig Stoner and David Shaw.
According to the Mail, prosecutor Pamela Reiss told the Isleworth Crown Court that 90 minutes into the flight, Stoner was called to the plane’s upper deck, where Johnson was inside a toilet.
“There was groaning and banging noises coming from inside and when the staff knocked on the door she would not unlock it. Mr Stoner decided to take the door off its hinges, but Miss Johnson put her back against it to stop him.”
The door was removed and Johnson shouted obscenities, the Mail reported.
Reiss said Johnson was carried back to the galley and had wet herself.
“The crew detected the smell of alcohol on her breath and urine on her clothes. She threatened that she was going to shoot them in the face and put her hand into her jeans pocket and pulled out her passport.
“She then kicked down on Mr Stoner’s right shin then used her fist and made contact with his right eyebrow and he felt blood trickling down his face. He was cut.”
Johnson also reportedly kicked Shaw on the shin, tried to bite him and told him she was going to shoot him in the face.
“At that point Mr Shaw said: 'Get the handcuffs.' Throughout the incident Miss Johnson was swearing all the time and upsetting her fellow passengers,” Reiss says.
Johnson's lawyer Laura Hucknell told the court that Johnson was “devastated and horrified” by her behaviour, “particularly as she is a former cabin staff employee herself”.
“She has little, if any, memory of the incident, but was nervous and stressed when boarding and did not have anything to eat. She is terrified of the prospect of going into custody and has not slept since.”
Judge Robin Johnson reportedly told the court that while such violence on an aeroplane would usually lead to immediate imprisonment, Johnson had escaped the sentence “by the skin of your teeth”.
Instead, she was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment which was suspended for 18 months and was ordered to pay Stoner £2000 (AU$3607) compensation, £1000 to Shaw, £650 costs and an £80 victim surcharge.
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