Ex-soldier is jailed after igniting fires on plane from city
AFORMER soldier has been jailed after starting two blazes on board a Birmingham plane, forcing its captain to make a mayday call and prepare for an emergency landing.
Drunken John Cox, 46, caused terror on the Egypt-bound airbus containing 194 passengers and seven crew after lighting a fire in the toilets.
The captain issued a mayday but was able to land safely after the fires were put out, Birmingham Crown Court was told. Cox, of Coates Road, Kidderminster, was jailed for four-and-a-half years after he pleaded guilty to a charge of reckless arson.
The Monarch flight to Sharm El Sheikh left Birmingham at 1.40pm on August 27, 2015. “The flight was unremarkable until it was flying over Munich at about 33,000 feet at about 14.45pm,” said William Dudley, prosecuting. “The captain received information from the aircraft system that a smoke detector had been activated in one of the aircraft’s lavatories.”
Cabin crew found the blaze in a waste paper basket and used two fire extinguishers and water to put it out. The captain debriefed the crew who were told to remain vigilant and it was decided to carry on with the flight, with four fire extin- guishers still on board. At 5.42pm the plane was 100 nautical miles north west of Egypt at 35,000 feet when the captain received another warning of fire.
This time it was discovered in the waste basket of another lavatory. Crew struggled to put the fire out, helped by a an ex-pilot passenger. By now two more extinguishers had been used.
The captain issued a mayday, making preparations to land at Alexandria and descending to 10,000 feet. But once the fire had been brought under control, it was decided it would be safe to continue to Sharm El Sheikh.
When approached by crew, Cox denied starting the fires and became aggressive.
Gurdeep Garcha, defending, said Cox, who had previously worked for Royal Mail and served nine years in the Army, had been drinking ‘far too heavily’. “He was not trying to hurt people or trying to bring the aircraft down,” he said.