Two British men were arrested by armed police after going on a drunken rampage during a flight to Goa.
Holidaymakers Ian Blackburn and Lawrence Sayer are accused of causing mid-air mayhem when they started screaming abuse at cabin crew and then tearing up seats and hurling them about the plane.
The pilot was forced to radio a mayday message to the airport at Goa while staff struggled to restrain the men. On landing, the DC-10 was surrounded by a specialist squad of heavily-armed police who escorted the men away at gunpoint.
Blackburn, 31, and Sayer, 30, were held in police cells in Vasco da Gama in Northern Goa for 18 hours before being released on bail.
Last night the Foreign Office said the men – both believed to be from Manchester – were awaiting a date to appear before a court in the Indian state. If found guilty of putting an aircraft in danger, they could face a lengthy jail sentence in one of Goa’s notoriously squalid prisons, where inmates are fed on maggot-infested food.
A Goan police source said: “This was an appalling incident. The other people on the plane were terrified.”
The incident – at 30,000ft – took place last Friday.
The men became increasingly rowdy, upsetting the 345 other passengers on board. After becoming abusive to the air hostesses the men were warned to calm down but became even more agitated. Airline staff say that when they began ripping up seats the pilot issued his mayday message.
A MyTravel Airways spokesman said: “We can confirm that the authorities in Goa were alerted to the unruly behaviour of two passengers on board a flight from Manchester. MyTravel Airways will not tolerate any behaviour that may jeopardise the safety of other passengers and our crew.”
By: 4 engines good - 8th March 2004 at 13:19
I’ve been to Goa a couple of times and the one thing you grasp very quickly is try not get in trouble with the law there.
The reputation of the Goan prison is indeed infamous- there always are a few Western ‘guests’ there, mostly for drug related offences. I pity the men if they’re convicted but like it’s been said you’d have to be utterly stupid to do such thing on an aeroplane these days.
T5, I’ve had the misfortune of sharing a Go flight between Madrid and Stansted with a bunch of Man United fans that were ****ed as rats. United had played Real Madrid the previous evening and many fans had not bothered with a hotel- they stayed in bars all night and then slept on the airport’s departure lounge until the gate opened. A few of them were well damn rude and they gave one of the stewardesses a lot of bother. Some of them were farting and burping with pride and by the end of it I was almost praying for a plane crash and a quick death.
Unfortunately unless they’re so drunk they can’t stand, it is easy for ****ed people to board planes.
By: Ren Frew - 8th March 2004 at 12:29
It was interesting watching a bunch of golfers on my recent Tenerife trip get progressively p*ssed on my return flight. Although they didn’t get violent, they did become a complete pain in the a*se.
The cabin crew handled them superbly and told them they couldn’t have another drink unless it was coffee. Follwed by a discreet mention of spending the night in Paisley’s Mill Street police station upon arrival. This seemed to do the trick. I’m from Paisley and can understand.:D
By: T5 - 8th March 2004 at 12:13
That food sounds scrumptious! :p
What I want to know is, how did these men become drunk in the first place? We all know that if passengers are drunk, they risk being refused travel. Even when on the aircraft, there is a limit as to how much alcohol a passenger can be served. Who allowed these men to either fly drunk or drink lots on board?
By: Bmused55 - 8th March 2004 at 07:36
Hope they do get a jail sentence. Stupid pratts
By: KabirT - 8th March 2004 at 07:14
and they just had to choose a naval air base to do there stupidness.:rolleyes:
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March 8, 2004 at 12:13 am