Transatlantic flight diverted when passenger demanded nuts
A transatlantic flight made an unscheduled landing in Belfast on Saturday after a passenger kept demanding nibbles from the crew.
Almost all of the remaining 282 passengers were then forced to sleep on the terminal floor while they waited more than 24 hours to take off again because the diversion pushed the crew beyond their legal flying hours limit.
A court heard that the pilot of the United Airlines flight from Rome to Chicago had decided to divert to Belfast after the crew became alarmed by Jeremah Mathis Thede’s alleged increasingly aggressive behaviour.
He landed the plane after first dumping 50,000 litres of fuel over the Atlantic.
Thede, from California, was charged in a court in Northern Ireland yesterday with endangering the safety of the aircraft, disruptive behaviour on board and common assault against a stewardess. He denies the charges.
The court in Coleraine was told that Thede allegedly got up 15 minutes into the flight, while the seat belt lights were still on, and demanded to be served ‘nuts or crackers’.
He was given a bag of nuts by one crew member but continued to demand more and became aggitated, repeatedly getting up and down from his seat, opening the overhead lockers and making several trips to the toilets.
His behaviour prompted the pilot to perform a u-turn over the Atlantic and head to Belfast International Airport.
Thede told police the crew had overreacted and that he’d done nothing wrong. He was remanded in custody to appear before magistrates’ next week and in the meantime Judge Christopher Holmes had ordered him to undergo psychiatric tests.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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