Man who chased Dublin Airport flight pleads guilty to assault

A Co Wexford man has pleaded guilty to assaulting two Dublin Airport workers who tackled him running after a plane on the tarmac after he missed his flight.

Ryanair staff and airport police stopped an intoxicated Patrick Kehoe after he ran onto the apron in a bid to flag down a plane to Amsterdam. He will be sentenced on April 25th.

The passenger was late for his flight but got through the boarding gate and a door leading to the tarmac, close to the Ryanair plane at about 7am on September 27th last.

Kehoe was restrained and held until gardai arrived .

Patrick Kehoe (24) from Raheenaskeagh, Oulart was originally charged with criminal damage to door lock at gate 106 in Terminal 1 .

However, that charge was withdrawn on Thursday at Dublin District Court.

It was replaced with two counts of assaulting an Airport Police Service (APS) woman and a male aircraft ground handler who intervened as he ran after his flight which was getting ready to take off.

Defence solicitor Peter Connolly told Judge Dermot Simms his client was pleading guilty.

Kehoe, who is unemployed and previously worked as a carpenter’s assistant, was at the airport with his girlfriend to go on holiday to Amsterdam, the court heard.

Garda David Cahill said when Kehoe got to his boarding gate it was closed but he proceeded out onto the apron and chased the aircraft.

Ground handlers were marshalling the plane which was taxiing onto the runway.

The court heard he attacked one of them by “pushing him and tripping him back onto the ground”. The policewoman went to stop him but he kicked her causing her a swollen knee.

The court heard he had one prior conviction for assault for which he was placed on probation for 12 months in 2013.

Garda Cahill agreed with the defence solicitor that Kehoe was “a little bit intoxicated” at the time. “By his own admission, he had a few pints before the flight and that may have something to do with missing the boarding call,” he told the court.

Mr Connolly said his client “had not been out of the country for many years”. Kehoe acted stupidly and impulsively, and did not have a bad record, his solicitor said .

The accused sobered up after the incident and the garda conceded that Kehoe was not problem when he dealt with him.

However, he added, that there had been “a significant amount of confrontation” during the incident. Mr Connolly said his client was taking medication to treat his ADHD. Kehoe, who remains on bail, was apologetic , Mr Connolly said.

Judge Simms adjourned sentencing to allow the defendant time to complete a restorative justice services programme.