Andrew Carey
AN AIR rage incident forced a US bound passenger plane to dump €20,000 worth of fuel and make an emergency landing at Shannon Airport, a court has heard.
Jody Bocher (28), a barman and native of Miami, Florida was arrested when the Norwegian Air flight landed at Shannon following the disturbance just 20 minutes after the plane left Gatwick airport in London on Tuesday.
Bochner, who had consumed a large quantity of vodka, set off the plane’s alarms when he started smoking an e-cigarette in the toilet. Two landing slots in Miami were missed at an expense of €60,000 to the airline.
The plane also had to refuel at Shannon Airport at another cost of €20,000 after having to dump the 20 tonnes of fuel before the emergency landing.
Judge Aeneas McCarthy was told that the 28-year-old was a very chastened man after spending a night in a cold garda cell and that he apologised for his actions.
Stating that the airline losses were a matter for another court, Judge Aeneas McCarthy imposed a fine of €1,000 and ordered Bochner to pay the fine with 28 days or face 20 days in prison
