A passenger who used a mobile phone aboard an aircraft threatened the captain when challenged over it, a court was told yesterday. Brian Pepper, a property consultant, originally from Dundalk, Co Louth, now living in Cheshire, England, behaved in an arrogant and extraordinary way aboard an Aer Lingus Manchester-Dublin flight in February of last year, Judge Conal Gibbons said.
Pepper failed to turn up in Dublin District Court to answer a summons for threatening and abusive behaviour to Capt Aengus O'Fearghail. He was convicted in his absence and Judge Gibbons adjourned sentencing to December 17th to give Pepper the opportunity to appear before him.
As the flight was leaving Manchester, an air steward asked Pepper to turn his mobile off and he said he would, but did not do so immediately. When she asked again, he replied: "I'm just sending a text message." Capt O'Fearghail was told and he got Pepper to turn it off. Then a senior cabin crew member noticed Pepper had a laptop computer.
When she asked him not to use it until the aircraft was in flight, he said other passengers were using laptops. He stowed it at the request of another passenger.
At Dublin, Capt O'Fearghail saw Pepper queuing to disembark with his mobile phone to his ear. "I don't believe it," he said. "Are you using that phone again?" Witnesses said Pepper raised his fist to within inches of the captain's face and said: "I will do something I might regret. I will rip your head off."
Garda∅ released him after he made a statement, which was handed into court yesterday.