Drunk Ryanair Passenger Threatened to “Do a 9/11”

An intoxicated and disruptive passenger made the threat moments before landing after an altercation with the cabin crew.

This week, a Manchester court heard how a drunk and out-of-control passenger turned a Ryanair flight from Málaga–Costa del Sol Airport (AGP) to Birmingham Airport (BHX) into a nightmare. Prosecutors say that the trouble-making flyer capped off his abusive behavior by threatening to “do a 9/11” shortly before the plane landed.

“The defendant was drunk,” the prosecuting attorney said in court transcripts reported by The Birmingham Mail. “He was loud and annoying other passengers by singing loudly to music he was playing on his headphones. He was asked at least six times to be quiet, he was swearing at passengers and cabin crew.”

Williams told magistrates that Jason Clarke was seen crawling on the floor of the cabin during the flight. The 46-year-old also threatened to “beat the s**t” out of a fellow passenger and repeatedly referred to crew members as “b**ches” and “f**gots.”

Clarke reportedly not only ignored instructions from the cabin crew but also threatened to urinate in his seat in response to repeated instructions to remain seated. It was when Clarke invoked the terrorist attacks of September 11, however, that his behavior crossed the line from disruptive to downright frightening.

“He made comments about doing a 9/11, an obvious reference to the terrorist atrocity in the US, and also to bringing the plane down,” Williams explained to the court.

The defendant admitted drinking about six pints of beer before boarding the January 13 flight. Clarke offered an apology to those on the flight and offered a guilty plea to a charge of “entering an aircraft while drunk.” He will be sentenced by a lower criminal court on February 27.

“It was extremely stupid of him,” Clarke’s lawyer told the court offering almost no defense for his client’s in-flight behavior. “He can not get away from the comments he made.”