LTN Phobia

Regardless of the competence of the local police to conduct a full investigation, there are matters outside the investigative powers of the police that may need to be dealt with, including by BA, e.g. banning the passenger, welfare of the crew member etc., and therefore, I strongly believe that an objective account by a witness could be of benefit to everyone, including future fellow passengers who may otherwise end up sharing the cabin with the perpetrator sometime in the future otherwise!

Although I do believe BA will act on the official incident report filed by the crew member etc., a witness report cannot do any harm.

I would immediately write down the full details of the circumstance (to record the incident as accurately possible), and approach BA about it. I'd also give it to the police.

Did the police not ask for any witnesses when they came to get the guy?

I must admit I'd have approached them there and then (assuming they weren't all busy tackling the perpetrator), identified myself as a witness and offered up what I saw, even if I wasn't asked, before my memory started to fade, but it might have been difficult to do so depending on the circumstance.

RobDBA

Even if the police were perfect I'd want to make sure BA have all the information possible so they can support their member of staff and ban this idiot from ever flying BA again.

HomerJay

It might also be helpful to write down where you were and what you were doing as you witnessed the attack. For example, "I was walking down the hallway, and heard a commotion just off to my left. There was a man in front of me, and I moved over to get a better look..." Also, if you can jot down, as best as you can, word for word what you remember of your conversation with the crew member and the extent of his injuries, the number of punches thrown, where he was struck, etc; The fact that he was able to get up and converse with you after the attack does not mean that he did not sustain injuries that will manifest themselves a day or two later.

I sit on a quasi-judicial panel, often hearing cases involving altercations or laying of hands, and such specificity can be very helpful.

And thank you for contacting BA on behalf of the crew member. It is unquestionably the right thing to do for a number of reasons.

PJSMITH0

obduro

Not much to add to the other comments but just wanted to say thank you for trying to help and do the right thing in what sounds like a horrendous situation.

Hope the cabin crew member is OK, nobody deserves to be assaulted at work like this and hopefully they aren't scarred for life by the incident.

orbitmic

Exactly. And I can only reiterate my earlier advice - providing a testimony to the police is far, far more important than providing a testimony to BA. Something the OP sends to BA will be worthless in court (unless the OP was planning to fly back on his own expense to attend court if the matter goes to trial at all?) whilst a proper testimony to the police is the only way to increase the chances that the culprit be prosecuted (which, from the op's words would be right) and that his testimony can then be given weight when that is the case even if he cannot attend court in person.

By contrast, BA do not actually need a separate report to ban the person from flying. If that passenger is condemned by a court for assaulting a BA member of staff, this will be more than enough for BA's purposes.

I mean sure, feel free to "also" write to BA if you have time on your hands though it won't make a difference that you do, but focusing on that is just the wrong priority and if it comes at the expense of a proper visit to the police, this explicitly does a disservice to the victim who is less likely to see justice served as a result.

Effectiveness is key here, and this is too important not to get your priorities right, and BA is just not it.

stevie

What a terrible incident. I wonder why, given there was ongoing conflict in the air and the ground why this was not nipped in the bud sooner.

ClubflyerLondon

Hi my final update on this, I have been in direct contact with BA and now the police regarding this incident yesterday evening i wont be commenting further on this as this is now a live investigation. Thank you all for the constructive advice, hopefully the right outcome for the victim crew member and the perpetrator of this attack will be achieved.

orbitmic

Well done! ^ I know one's idea of a fun time is not to spend hours reporting unpleasant events one has witnessed, but the world is a better place when enough citizens behave responsibly which is exactly what you have done!

Mountlodge

Having read the thread I couldnt see anything about having video evidence of the incident. I know BA have what to me looks like 360 degree cameras in the kichen areas but dont know how far out into the cabin (if at all) they can reach. If not, then as is quite prolific these days is for other people to record these kind of incidence on their phones. Also, being that the incident took place on the aircraft as opposed to cypriot territory, as much as it is for the local police to get involved, ultimately would the incident not be dealt with by the UK courts (assuming the victim would want to press charges?). I'm no legal expert, just my thoughts.
ML

KeaneJohn

orbitmic

I think you read this wrong. The cabin is where the situation started but the actual, physical assault, took place in the baggage haul in LCA as per post 1, and that is very much Cypriot territory.

Mountlodge

oops. Thanks for the clarity on that. Yes I did mis-read.
ML

Oxon Flyer

Folks, bearing in mind the ongoing live investigation, and the OP indicating that they have nothing more to add, we'd request that any further posts in the thread be limited only to content that is new, significant and relevant.

Thank you for your co-operation.

the mod team