The facts took place on a Dublin-New York flight. The respondent refused to wear the mask, threw a can on a passage and showed his buttocks.
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An eventful flight. An Irishman who refused to wear his mask on a Dublin-New York flight has been charged of “aggression” and “bullying” in order to have, in particular, “showed his butt” in public, a “crime” for which he risks up to 20 years in prison, announced Friday, January 21 the American justice.
Shane McInerney, 29, from Galway, Ireland, appeared on January 14 in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, where he was charged with “willfully assaulting and intimidating a member of the cabin crew of Delta Airlines Flight 45 from Dublin to JFK Airport” of New York on January 7, according to a court document.
Federal justice accuses him of having “repeatedly refused to wear a mask”, having “thrown a can of drink that hit a passenger in the head”, having “pulled down his pants and underwear and showed his ass to a crew member and passengers” and finally to have “removed his cap to put it on the captain’s head”.
The lawsuits constitute “a crime and, if convicted, the accused could face up to 20 years in prison”, said a spokesperson for the Brooklyn court. The Irish national, who was traveling to Florida for a job as a football trainer, was released on bail for $20,000, pending trial.
The American regulator of civil aviation (FAA) had decreed in January 2021 a zero tolerance policy towards passengers who refused to wear the mask against the Covid-19, while the flight crew of the companies faced a very large number of reported cases of verbal or physical abuse by persons refusing to comply with this obligation. On Thursday, an American Airlines plane that linked Miami to London turned around halfway, one of the passengers refusing to wear her mask.