I know it’s hard to keep track; we’re already familiar with the woman who forced an American Airlines flight to turn back in mid-route on the way to London due to her (apparently drunken) repeated, and vehement refusal to put on a mask for the flight. That woman was escorted off the plane in Miami and will probably be facing civil charges at some point, but the outcome (she wasn’t arrested or criminally charged with anything thus far) seemed a little … unfitting for what she did.
Anyway, here’s a new one who likely won’t be treated with the same kid gloves evidently afforded (for some reason) by the local police in Florida.
As reported by Shayna Jacobs for the Washington Post:
NEW YORK — A belligerent Delta Air Lines passenger who refused to wear a mask during a recent eight-hour flight from Dublin to New York has been charged with assaulting and intimidating a member of the crew — one of several who tried to get him under control — as he terrorized everyone aboard throughout the trip.
Shane McInerney, 29, a Galway, Ireland, resident, threw tantrums and stubbornly went maskless on the Jan. 7 international flight despite being asked “dozens of times” by crew members to put one on, court documents say.
Yeah, this guy, whose charms reportedly “includ[ed] mooning people as he was escorted back to his seat, throwing a drink can at the head of another passenger and kicking the seat of the person in front of him,” is going down hard.
McInerney was charged with assaulting and intimidating a crew member on Delta Flight 45. He was released on a $20,000 bond when he appeared before a judge a week ago. His case was unsealed on Friday.
He apparently was headed to a soccer coaching job — in Florida. Don’t think that will be happening anytime soon. [Update: The Daily Mail has pictures of the guy here, including one of him on the beach in Daytona after the incident. As the story notes, he faces up to 20 years in prison — if convicted].
See ya, pal. Good luck with the rest of your life.
Oh, and welcome to New York.