A DRUNK man allegedly tried to kick the windows out on a Virgin Atlantic flight before charging towards the cockpit – causing a woman to drop her baby.
The “unruly” traveller, believed to be a Brit, forced the frantic crew on the flight from Heathrow to LA to make an emergency landing in Salt Lake City on Tuesday.
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Holidaymakers were forced to make an impromptu stop in Salt Lake City at around 4:30pm as the bloke is said to have gone berserk and fought several passengers.
Witnesses claim the man, who was travelling with his female partner and child, only stopped his rampage in the sky when he was subdued by US marines on board the flight.
He is said to have kicked off with flight attendants at least three times throughout various points of the journey.
But his drink-fuelled outburst continued to escalate, with onlookers claiming he tried to kick out the windows of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
The boozed-up ‘Brit’ then boldly tried to make his way towards the cockpit, before US marines on the flight “piled on him”.
The commotion is also claimed to have caused a mum on the plane to drop her baby, who reportedly sustained minor injuries.
The crew decided to land and he was hauled off the plane by Salt Lake City Police Department officers and US Customs officers.
An eyewitness who wished to remain anonymous exclusively told The Sun: “There was an altercation involving the man about an hour into the flight. He was a British guy.
“It took a good while to get him to sit back down and resolve it.
“Then a few hours later it happened again and I thought to myself ‘This may not end well’.
“Later he had fallen asleep but woke up ready to go again and that’s when he started getting physical.
“There were a couple of US marines who piled in on him. He was sitting in the back and he got handcuffed right there.”
The source said the boisterous bloke then started “whining” that he could not feel his fingers after he was restrained by officers.
They added: “They worked for some time to subdue him before they decided to land.
“It was intense for a while and I was upset because it was the third time.”
There were a couple of US marines who piled in on him. He was sitting in the back and he got handcuffed right there.
Passenger
The unidentified man and his family exited the aircraft in Salt Lake City before the plane continued on to Los Angeles.
Emergency crews surrounded the plane on the southwest de-icing pad at the airport for a few hours, before the aircraft took off again at around 7.30pm.
Formal charges are expected to be filed by the US Attorney today.
A US law enforcement source told The Sun: “A passenger on board became unruly and fought several passengers while attempting to move towards the cockpit.
“During the fight, a mum dropped her baby causing injury.
“They eventually got him under control and handcuffed the guy and diverted to Salt Lake City for police to enter the plane and take him into custody.”
Passengers on the flight said the atmosphere was already tense before takeoff due to the chaos at Heathrow.
One described travellers as “agitated” after being stuck in huge queues at the major airport.
HOLIDAY FROM HELL
They explained: “Before we even left Heathrow I was in a two-hour bag drop line and a two-hour security line.
“I was there for five hours and barely made my flight. People were not happy, people were very agitated.
“I’ve never been on a flight like that, there were so many screaming kids and irritated parents.
“The flight attendants seemed edgy from the beginning, I think right now the whole industry is not right. Heathrow was at limit numbers.”
Virgin Atlantic said in a statement yesterday: “Due to a disruptive passenger onboard flight VS141 operating from London Heathrow to Los Angeles on Tuesday 26 July, the aircraft diverted to Salt Lake City to be met by police authorities.
“The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is always our top priority and we don’t tolerate any behaviour that compromises this.
“We always want our customers to have the best experience when they fly with us and our cabin crew are highly trained to deal with any individuals that may impact that experience for others.
“The flight will continue to Los Angeles as soon as possible, with our crew working hard to keep any arrival delay to a minimum.”
Salt Lake City Police told KUTV: “At approximately 4:30pm, Airport Division Police were called to respond to a Virgin Atlantic flight that was diverted into SLC due to an unruly passenger onboard a Virgin Atlantic flight who had been physically detained by other passengers and flight crew members.”
The Sun have contacted the UK Foreign Office for comment.
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