A foreign tourist was flying from Manchester, England to Malta to celebrate his birthday in the Mediterranean resort, but after telling the flight attendant to take his seat and fasten his seat belt, he grabbed her by the throat and started choking her. In court, he pleaded guilty to assault during the flight.
The incident occurred on a flight of the British low-cost Easyjet back in March, but the court hearings, in this case, are still ongoing, Express reported. During the flight, 51-year-old Colin Smith, who went on holiday with his girlfriend, managed to drink ¾ of a bottle of Famous Grouse whiskey, bought earlier in the duty-free shop at the airport, and began to show aggressive behavior.
When the flight attendant saw a tourist getting up from his seat to go to the toilet, she informed him that the plane was descending and the “fasten seat belts” light was on, so he had to take his seat. But the man’s reaction turned out to be unpredictable: he got angry, grabbed the airline employee by the throat with both hands, and began to strangle her.
In an attempt to defend himself, a crew member pushed him away, and the tourist collapsed onto two fellow travelers sitting nearby, who helped restrain him from the overwhelming urge to pounce on the victim again. One of the passengers remarked that the inappropriate passenger might have a fit, but it quickly became clear that he was “just drunk.” The flight attendant asked the girl accompanying the rowdy passenger if he was mentally challenged, to which she replied: “I told him he couldn’t drink that whiskey.”
After returning to his homeland, a week after the event, the British were detained by the police. During the interrogation, he admitted that he drank a lot and was “9 out of 10” drunk. It was reported that at the last meeting, the man complained that his memories were “fragmented” due to intoxication, but he admitted his guilt in attacking the stewardess and asked not to judge him harshly. He brings up the disabled child of his civil wife and takes care of her elderly, infirm mother.
It was specified that Smith had six convictions. He last appeared in court in May 2018 for assault. The announcement of the verdict is postponed until January 16.