Category - Travel
United Airlines Passenger Fined $10,000 for ‘Appalling’ Acts
A “nervous flyer” will pay $10,000 for his “appalling” behavior which caused the diversion of a United Airlines flight earlier this week. Zachary Greear, a 34-year-old American climate research analyst, was arraigned in an Irish court on Monday, The Guardian reported.
The incident occurred earlier that morning, shortly after Greear’s New York-bound flight departed Amsterdam. According to official statements, Greear was highly intoxicated and began acting “unruly” about two hours into the flight. He was “requested by a member of the aircraft crew to cease such behavior,” but continued to act out. A short time later, he urinated in his seat, which then spread throughout the aisle.
Greear’s behavior was so disturbing that the captain made the decision to divert the plane to Dublin for an emergency landing, dumping £30,000 (about $36,760) worth of fuel in the process. Upon landing, the passenger was taken into custody by the Garda, Ireland’s state police force. According to officers, Greear was so intoxicated that he “couldn’t understand where he was” during his arrest. Once he came to his senses, Greear apologized to the arresting officers.
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In court later that day, Greear offered a “most sincere apology” for his antics, telling the judge he was “horrified and embarrassed” by what had occurred. He attributed his behavior to being a “nervous flyer,” having consumed several alcoholic beverages and taken the tranquilizer Xanax before boarding the plane. Greear’s lawyer offered the court $5,000 (just over £4,000) to cover the expenses of the debacle, but the judge said that amount “doesn’t even touch the damage that [Greear] has caused.” He told the plaintiff to return to court on Jan. 14 with “double that” sum.
“Can you imagine the fear and trauma he caused to a pilot who is trying to manage people safely on his aircraft, to passengers, to employees of the airline who have to dump fuel and turn around a flight and land in a jurisdiction they never expected to be in?” the judge said in court.
In addition to accepting the fine, Greear pleaded guilty to the three charges with which he was hit: “Engage[ing] in behavior likely to cause serious offense or annoyance to any person on board the aircraft; intoxication; and behavior of a threatening, abusive or insulting nature,” the Irish Court Service confirmed. Greear has no previous charges or convictions.