A British man who threatened to “mess up” a United Airlines plane has been ordered to pay $20,638 (€19,116) to the carrier in damages by US courts.
A threat to the aircraft
Alexander Michael Dominic MacDonald, a 30-year-old from Chelmsford, UK, had boarded United Flight 883 bound from London’s Heathrow to Newark in New Jersey, USA on 1 March 2024, but during the flight he started to argue with his girlfriend, flying with him. When asked to lower his volume and calm down, MacDonald also became argumentative with the flight attendants and made threats of physical violence, asking if they wanted to “have a problem” and saying he would “mess up the plane.”
Although handcuffed in a plastic device and restrained by the crew as well as two other passengers, the man continued to be abusive and could not be physically contained. The pilot made a decision that the flight could not continue, telling Federal Bureau of Investigation agents that he feared the man was a credible…