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

[Chicog]

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...

Don't go soft on him, make it BA longhaul!

[Halion]

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.

Agree, it would appear to be a compendium of errors many of which would seem to originate in the way the situation was handled however , loosing your cool over a packet of nuts also leaves much to be desired.

[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.

Agree, it would appear to be a compendium of errors many of which would seem to originate in the way the situation was handled however , loosing your cool over a packet of nuts also leaves much to be desired.

Agreed, yet the crew is supposed to both receive training and have procedures in place to handle such situations.

[Colabamumbai]

Where are Air Marshall's when you need them? He should be banned from flying for life.

[retarius]

Has the US$ sank or sterling soared? The math in the Nation is always awful.

[inquisitive]

There is no question that the passenger was unruly, and wrong. He probably was obnoxious and disrespectful as well. On the other hand, it is hard to accept that in the entire crew there wasn't a single person that had the training or even basic sense to handle this without turning it into an international incident effecting hundreds of passengers, their families, and their businesses. And the environmental impact? It goes way beyond the tons of fuel spewed into the arltmosphere. That plane had to replace all that fuel and more to finish its journey. What would be out attitude if that were an oil spill?

My bottom line questions are to ask where was the professionalism? Where was even the balance in this enormous overreaction? United Airlines should re-think its training. If they can't handle an obnoxious passenger with the best interests of their other passengers in mind, then should we really trust them with our lives as every passenger on that plane did?

Let's face it, the passenger was wrong, but it was the crew that lost it here. No one can convince me that there was no better solution. United Airlines, shame on you.

[Ulic]

A miscommunication, he was just trying to alert the flight crew to

the fact that he was "nuts" or "crackers"

[uksomchai]

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...

No a far better punishment would be for people like this person to be banned from flying period ! If all the airlines agreed to this I guarantee that this type of behaviour would cease very quickly. Once a few people were banned from flying people like this jerk would all think twice before acting like a first class tool.

[bangon04]

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...

No a far better punishment would be for people like this person to be banned from flying period ! If all the airlines agreed to this I guarantee that this type of behaviour would cease very quickly. Once a few people were banned from flying people like this jerk would all think twice before acting like a first class tool.

Yes indeed - if the facts are proven. A flying ban on all commercial airlines computers would be a real deterrent.

And it can easily be proven without crew or witness testimony - they have CCTV on buses and trains these days and the footage is admissible in court - no reason why they can't have them on commercial airliners too.

[masquerade]

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.

I agree, it is only the nuts on this forum that would do that. It takes a story like this to bring the grime out of the woodwork. Some of these comments are bordering on the insane.

[Chicog]

Let's face it, the passenger was wrong, but it was the crew that lost it here. No one can convince me that there was no better solution. United Airlines, shame on you.

All of this from a sparse third party account which even so clearly indicated that both cabin crew and passengers were concerned about his behaviour.

As I said, I doubt very much any major airline captain would lose his cool over nothing and panic.

Passenger Rick Sliter, from San Diego, said crew and air marshals were concerned about a man’s unusual behaviour on board the plane.

He told MailOnline Travel: ‘From what I heard the guy was really being a nut job, cursing people out, staring at people and changing his shirt four or five times in the bathroom.’

Fellow passenger Mike Rafferty added: ‘Apparently, a man was acting strange – belligerent and enraged – in the boarding area and at least one United boarding agent warned him if he continued acting that way he would not be allowed to board.

‘Then apparently, during the flight he berated the woman next to him and other passengers became alarmed by this and other strangeness.

Personally I'd want this nutter off my aircraft, and apparently it's illegal just to throw them out at 30,000 feet.

And...

The constable said during a police interview Thede denied committing any offences.

"He said it wasn't him, there was a conspiracy theory against him, people were picking on him," he said.

Edited June 23, 2015 by Chicog

[IAMHERE]

Why did they have to dump fuel, don't the airlines teach how to land a plane with fuel in the tanks ?

[Reigntax]

Should have tied him up then given him the nuts. That would really drive him crazy!

[Benmart]

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?

I wasn't on the plane, nor do I know anyone that was. I only read and try not to assume tht I know more than I do.

I am not qualified to label anyone as an "idiot", regardless of nationality. I leave that to those that seem better qualified, either real or imagined.

Everyone is entitled to assumptions, prejudgements and self-imagined superiority. I've tried all those and more, only to realize that I am not the all-knowing, all-seeing being without fault.

[EnglishJohn]

Airlines seem to be very poor at dealing wit this kind of thing. I have seen fights and aggressive drunks several times and the response seems to be for 3 or 4 cabin crew to hang around in the Aisle talking to him like a strict mother while those sat near him are wondering if they are going to cop it and have a very uncomfortable experience. It might be like this for hours until the end of the flight.

They should have a plan to clear a seat right at the back and move him there on his own. If he gets aggressive he should be handcuffed.

God help us if by some chance he catches one of the cabin staff in his drunken stupor. It seems any contact at all is classed as assault then he is an immediate terrorist.

I would prefer them to Taser these knobs straight away then cuff them to a place out of sight and sound of everyone else but I expect that would not be good for PR.

[Basil B]

Like to know where I can get more than $2 to the £... ???

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.

[Nowisee]

It would have solved the immediate needs of this idiot... instead, they just had to escalate the situation.

If he keeps up the disruptive behavior, charge him when they land in Chicago...

Dumping all that fuel and stopping the world for all those passengers for 24 hours is really a stupid response.

Why didn't they just give him some nuts?

[Tywais]

Why did they have to dump fuel, don't the airlines teach how to land a plane with fuel in the tanks ?

There is a maximum allowed structural landing weight for safety.

[Patong2]

Anyone disruptive on an aeroplane should be put on a "no fly list" and never fly again.

and mandatory 3 months custodial assessment.

I not interested in having my trip/holiday interrupted by an unscheduled landing or even putting up with disruption on the plane.

Any costs should be a direct cost to the disruptor.

Do you want to subsidise their alcoholism, personality disorder or whatever?

[uptheos]

Shortage of Air Marshall's?

[Basil B]

Why didn't they just give him some nuts?

When you get a passenger who refuses to go back to there seat and put their seat belt on you have an unruly passenger this is endangering the safety of the aircraft, I am sure there is more to this than has been reported, a decision to turn back is not considered lightly, unless the guy was actually throwing punches I am sure the Captain would have consulted with this airlines opps and would almost certainly have been a decision made by senior management back in the states, thought the Captain can make the decision himself.

charged with endangering the safety of the aircraft, disruptive behaviour on board and common assault against a stewardess.

Be interested to know which airline would be nuts enough to fly him home when he gets out of clink.

[MyFriend You]

The guy was obviously a nutcase, but the pilot over reacted and wll have to answer for his stupidity, espcially if he dumped the fuel over land when there was no real threat to pasengers or crew - They should have tried to calm the passenger instead of allowing him to stand and make a fuss by gving him some crackers!!! - then have him arrested on landng - don't they have Air Marshalls on Inernational Flghts?? or is tha only US Airlines...........

[Lokie]

In this instance the correct action was taken, the man refused repeated requests to return to his seat and fasten his seat belt which was posted on the aircraft in direct contravention of international avaition rules. Who is to say he may not of completely flipped and attempted to open a door or some other crazy act? The nuts or wheather he actually hit anyone is not the issue. The plane landed the Knob head was arrested and jailed to appear before a court, no one was injured - result. Hopefully he will get a hefty fine and banned from air travel period.

[cookee68]

That's how you treat idiot passengers, lock their arse up for a bit, not pamper them like some airlines, and certain countries do, so take note

[jjablonsky]

Good luck to him getting a plane ticket home. Hope he likes boats.

[MAJIC]

Wasn't there some woman last year that got struck down with some kind of Hi So in flight Nut rage? I never did find out what happened to her,but she also cost the Airline a lot of money. Maybe the Airlines should get together and ban nuts Globally, just like they did for smoking!

[Jonmarleesco]

'... at a cost of up to £350,000 ($715,000) ...' Someone's FX calculations are adrift ... or they've dragged up an age-old incident.

[Jonmarleesco]

Wasn't there some woman last year that got struck down with some kind of Hi So in flight Nut rage? I never did find out what happened to her,but she also cost the Airline a lot of money. Maybe the Airlines should get together and ban nuts Globally, just like they did for smoking!

Yes, but her old man ran the airline, and she was an executive with it, trying it on with the crew. She was sacked and prosecuted.