Row over bag of nuts costs airline US$715,000

[webfact]

Row over bag of nuts costs airline $715,000
Ben Farmer

London: An Airliner was forced to make an unscheduled landing in Northern Ireland at a cost of up to £350,000 ($715,000) because an unruly passenger was demanding some nuts.

The United Airlines plane, which was en route from Rome to Chicago on Saturday evening, landed in Belfast when the pilot grew alarmed at the passenger's behaviour.

The plane had to dump 50,000 litres of fuel to make the stop, and the passengers had to wait almost 24 hours to take off again because getting under way immediately would have broken the crew's legal flying hours limit. Almost all the passengers had to sleep on the terminal floor.

Jeremiah Mathis Thede, from Berkeley, California, appeared at Coleraine magistrates' court in Northern Ireland on Monday charged with endangering the safety of the aircraft, disruptive behaviour on board and common assault against a stewardess.

A policeman from Belfast International Airport Constabulary told the court the trouble began when Mr Thede allegedly stood up 15 minutes after take-off, with the seat belt lights still on, and demanded "nuts or crackers".

Full story: http://www.theage.com.au/world/row-over-bag-of-nuts-costs-airline-715000-20150623-ghvnbx.html


-- The Age 2015-06-23

[MaxYakov]

These days don't they carry emergency cable ties for this eventuality? Much more cost-effective.

[daoyai]

...^^^ ..or emergency nuts or crackers?

[slipperylobster]

There ya go....

If they just would of lightened up a bit and let the man have an extra 20 cents worth of nuts...and a few crackers....the airliner could of been on time...and hundreds of thousands of dollars richer.

I'm packing my own...

[Seastallion]

Sounds strange. Why wasn't the idiot American just restrained? Why didn't the plane land sooner...an incident 25 minutes after takeoff from Rome,..there were stops well before Belfast.

"Mr Thede denies the offences and told police the pilot had overreacted. The policeman said: "He said it wasn't him, there was a conspiracy theory against him, people were picking on him.""

Hmmm. Of course. All authority is biased, right?

[ezzra]

As a befitting punishment I would banish him to a hard labor in a peanuts farm prison for

until the damage was paid.... or imprison him and feed him nothing but peanuts...

[slipperylobster]

They waited until they got close to Ireland...because there is an abundance of nuts there.

[Seastallion]

There ya go....

If they just would of lightened up a bit and let the man have an extra 20 cents worth of nuts...and a few crackers....the airliner could of been on time...and hundreds of thousands of dollars richer.

I'm packing my own...

Yeah...there must be more to it.

Mind you, "lightened up" is a bit harsh. Do you expect the airline to cater to every whim of every idiot American? Or every idiot whatever nationality?

[MaxYakov]

Sounds strange. Why wasn't the idiot American just restrained? Why didn't the plane land sooner...an incident 25 minutes after takeoff from Rome,..there were stops well before Belfast.

"Mr Thede denies the offences and told police the pilot had overreacted. The policeman said: "He said it wasn't him, there was a conspiracy theory against him, people were picking on him.""

Hmmm. Of course. All authority is biased, right?

He was reportedly from (what is commonly referred to as) Berzerkley, California.

[LotusBoy]

This story is Nuts!!

[2alex4alex]

Nut case

[pedro01]

Why didn't they just give him some nuts?

[manarak]

A stupid story really.

A reality check is needed.

Firstly, the captain confirmed no one was hit during the flight, so there was no violence. Then how could the safety of the flight be endangered?

Secondly, why can't an airplane crew deal with an unruly passenger that poses no threat, since no one was hit?

Thirdly, as already mentioned on this thread, why didn't they just give him more nuts and then tie him to his seat as last resort, and then have him prosecuted and refused to take him onboard the return flight?

My take on this is that the crew made more mistakes than the passenger ! The crew overblew the incident to unreasonable proportions.

[gp2002]

Why didn't they just give him some nuts?

Because if the airlines cater to one idiot then they'll have to cater to all the idiots.

[pnustedt]

I guess that's Aus $, not US

[nabbie]

The plane had to dump 50,000 litres of fuel

to where? plane's toilet?

[Credo]

This story is confusing. What kind of nuts did he want?

Coming from Berkley, they could have told him to wait a bit, he would soon be in the land of fruits and nuts.

Of course, coming from the Bay area, perhaps it was some other kind of nuts he wanted.

Anyway, it's sad for all the passengers and crew that were inconvenienced.

[maidee]

i guess he is nuts and hope he will have to work to pay the bill

[SOTIRIOS]

...^^^ ..or emergency nuts or crackers?

....sounds like he was talking about himself....in one pathetic package....

[slipperylobster]

The plane had to dump 50,000 litres of fuel

to where? plane's toilet?

Seems they were in a hurry to dump fuel....

instead of dumping nuts.

Why would they hoard all the nuts anyways? Stewardesses probably load up their pockets before they land.

The guy just wanted one more bag. (they are small...when you dump them on your napkin)

The big picture...2000 bucks for a flight and only one bag of nuts....lol.

[slipperylobster]

Why didn't they just give him some nuts?

Because if the airlines cater to one idiot then they'll have to cater to all the idiots.

Not all the idiots are flying.....today.

Jeez.........a bag of nuts........

It's not like there was a big feeding frenzy in the passenger compartment. Everyone shouting for extra nuts? Nah.

[slipperylobster]

Why didn't they just give him some nuts?

Maybe he said something rude...like..."Hey..gimme some nuts, bitch".

[pgrahmm]

Ever been to Bezerkely??? It's Looney Tunes R Us......an entire area of narcissistic malcontents that think they are completely normal - and THERE they are completely normal......

[Chicog]

From two different reports:

Police constable William Robinson, who is in charge of the case, said he had been told that 15 minutes into the flight, Mr Thede had got to his feet while the seatbelt sign was still on.

He was asked by a cabin crew member to return to his seat but refused to do so until he was given nuts and crackers, the constable said.

Ten minutes later, he got up again, asked for more and was refused. He then shouted and was abusive, the court in Coleraine was told.

The cabin crew member felt threatened by his demeanour and alerted the captain as they were getting close to the Atlantic Ocean, Mr Robinson said.

The court heard allegations that Mr Thede squared up to cabin crew, blocked aisles, lifted bags in and out of the overhead lockers, kept going to the toilet and acted in such a way that other passengers felt threatened.

Mr Robinson said the captain took the decision to divert to Belfast because of Mr Thede's "erratic behaviour".

I doubt a captain would go to all that trouble over nothing.

[bamukloy]

Another American idiot.

someone should have kicked him in the nuts

[slipperylobster]

I noticed the same behavior by many Expats here in Thailand. We read about it all the time...from posters overcharged by 5 or ten baht..at the market or on the tuk tuk.

As an aside....I do feel stewardesses are much more aggressive (and even mean), on US Carriers. Probably they are being trained to look for troublemakers. Not saying that is bad. I do, however, find Asian stewardesses much more polite. (and younger..hehe).

I have been put in my place..for just sticking my napkin into a plastic cup. The stewardess grabbed my cup and said...."don't you know that we are recycling this stuff !??"

Anyways...the guy stressed out. He might of had a bad day...missed a flight....or got his seat reassigned....etc. A bag of nuts might of made him feel more in control. Sometimes..we only get the last 5 minutes of history on a story.....

[MaxYakov]

From two different reports:

Police constable William Robinson, who is in charge of the case, said he had been told that 15 minutes into the flight, Mr Thede had got to his feet while the seatbelt sign was still on.

He was asked by a cabin crew member to return to his seat but refused to do so until he was given nuts and crackers, the constable said.

Ten minutes later, he got up again, asked for more and was refused. He then shouted and was abusive, the court in Coleraine was told.

The cabin crew member felt threatened by his demeanour and alerted the captain as they were getting close to the Atlantic Ocean, Mr Robinson said.

The court heard allegations that Mr Thede squared up to cabin crew, blocked aisles, lifted bags in and out of the overhead lockers, kept going to the toilet and acted in such a way that other passengers felt threatened.

Mr Robinson said the captain took the decision to divert to Belfast because of Mr Thede's "erratic behaviour".

I doubt a captain would go to all that trouble over nothing.

You're correct. The cabin crew recommended that they land to re-stock their snacks.

[Manbing]

This idiot should have asked the South Korean VP of Korean Airlines if nut protests are worth the effort.

[NUUM]

As a befitting punishment I would banish him to a hard labor in a peanuts farm prison for

until the damage was paid.... or imprison him and feed him nothing but peanuts...

A more befitting punishment would be restrict him to only ever being able to fly United again...

[rak sa_ngop]

Jeremiah Mathis Thede.

What a wonderful name!!!!