Spitting, Biting BA Passenger Avoids Jail Time
Jeff Edwards July 20, 2016
The 21-year-old flyer who turned an April British Airway flight into chaos escaped from the courtroom with a suspended sentence.
Christopher McNerlin intervened after a very drunk 21-year-old started causing trouble on a Dubai International Airport (DXB) to London Heathrow (LHR)-bound British Airways flight in April. Good Samaritan McNerlin received a “vicious” bite wound and a lingering infection for his efforts. A grateful British Airways crew later treated McNerlin to a private flight deck tour as a thank you for his in-flight heroics. “Thanks to British Airways Captain Kendal for showing me the cockpit,” McNerlin tweeted shortly after the tour. “The bite and A&E were almost worth it.”
The biter, Joshua McCarthy, avoided jail time on Wednesday when an Isleworth Crown Court handed down a suspended prison sentence for his behavior aboard the April 2 flight.
McCarthy, who was traveling home with his parents at the time of his aggressive drunken outburst, was charged not only with assaulting his fellow passenger, but also spitting on another passenger and calling a flight attendant a “f*cking red-haired Nazi b*tch.” McCarthy also reportedly told crew members, “I’m going to kill you.”
A 37-second video of McCarthy’s arrest at LHR obtained by the Daily Mail shows the irate flyer being led away by officers as he screamed profanities at police, crew members and fellow passengers. His repeated and random utterance of expletives in earshot of small children on the flight was cited by prosecutors who were asking for a more severe punishment given the anguish McCarthy caused fellow passengers.
McCarthy’s legal team excused the incident, telling the court, “This was extremely out of character, he feels utter shame and is deeply remorseful. He went from tipsy to very drunk in an instant.” In addition to the suspended prison sentence, McCarthy was ordered to pay restitution to the passengers he assaulted as well as completing 220 hours of community service.
[Photo: Twitter, Christopher McNerlin]
How much restitution was he required to pay? I don't know but I'd think the bystander who jumped in to help should have been further rewarded by BA.