Inebriated Escapade Will Cost Him C$30,000

A passenger who got a bit out of control on an international flight last week had his day in court Friday.

Sergey Kotsur, 39, a Russian restauranteur, was on a Delta Air Lines flight enroute from Moscow to Atlanta last week when he became aggressive toward other passengers and flight attendants. The flight diverted to Gander, Newfoundland as a result, causing a four hour delay.

It seems that Kotsur was already intoxicated when he boarded the plane, and continued to drink during the flight. Further testimony presented in court revealed Kotsur was arguing with family members who were traveling with him, and began banging his head against a wall of the cabin. He also reportedly grabbed a flight attendant's thigh, under her skirt.

Witnesses said it took eight people to restrain the man. He was still unruly when taken into custody, and tried to break out a window in a police car.

In court, Kotsur pled guilty to assaulting a member of the crew and to interfering with a flight crew. A previous charge of mischief was dropped, CBC reported.

Defense attorney Juan O'Quinn blamed the incident on a combination of alcohol and medication his client had taken before the flight, and said Kotsur was sorry and embarrassed by his actions.

"Mr. Kotsur had been drinking on the plane and that there was some medication taken, some sleeping medication, I suspect, that had a reaction. It's not some kind of activity he would normally engage in," O'Quinn said. "He's a fairly mild fellow but the concoction of the medicine he took and the alcohol, I suspect, probably had an impact on the way he behaved."

Judge Bruce Short was unimpressed. He fined Kotsur $10,000 plus $20,000 in restitution to Delta (a total of about $25,220 USD), and gave him a year to pay up.

FMI: www.delta.com