British Man Denies Memory of Incident
When one doesn't want to fly, one
shouldn't get on a plane, right? A passenger onboard a Blue 1
flight at Sweden's Stockholm Arlanda Airport in June apparently
didn't know that.
While the jet was taxiing to the runway in preparation for
takeoff, a man suddenly jumped out of his seat, and screamed he
wanted to get off the plane, according to The Sweden Local.
As the cabin crew tried to calm him down, one of the flight
attendants asked if he was having a panic attack.
"I'll give you a (expletive) panic attack," he reportedly
replied.
He then got away from the cabin crew and attempted to break into
the cockpit, but was unsuccessful. The unidentified man then opened
an emergency exit door, releasing the inflatable slide while the
aircraft was still in motion.
"That's what made the incident so dangerous," said Arlanda
police spokesman Åke Granberg. "The plane was moving and the
inflatable slide could have been sucked into the engines causing an
explosion."
The cabin crew managed to subdue the man while the pilot stopped
the aircraft and the man was removed and taken into custody by law
enforcement officials.
The British man was charged with endangering an aircraft.
Prosecutor Ann Alheim told The Local he could also face up to a
year in jail.
"He put the plane's safety in danger and that's significant
under the law. His punishment will depend on the psychiatric
evaluation but if he's found to be healthy then it could be one
year -- but that's just a guess," she said.
The preliminary hearing is scheduled for Friday. Should it be
decided the case will proceed the man will undergo psychiatric
assessments within the next couple of weeks.
The man told police he didn't remember the incident, said
Granberg. "He remembered that he had been at the airport and he
remembered how he had got there. But after that the next thing he
was aware of was being in custody."
Lab tests showed the man was positive for buprenorphine, a
narcotic used in the treatment of substance abuse and addiction,
according to the Sweden Metro.
The man is reportedly shocked by what happened, and has no
previous convictions.
"He says he can't admit or deny anything as he can't remember
what happened," said his lawyer Ghita Hadding Wiberg. "He can't
understand his behavior -- he's obviously concerned and
frightened."
The man has said that he is willing to compensate the airline
for the cost his actions -- a cost estimated to run around
$26,000.