Drunk who tried to eat his phone on flight faces jail

● Man swore and threatened cabin crew after drinking from bottle of gin

A drunk passenger who caused an aircraft to be diverted to Edinburgh Airport after he started eating his mobile phone is facing a jail sentence.

Matthew Flaherty was on an easyjet flight travelling from Manchester to Iceland in January last year when he pulled a bottle of gin from a bag and began drinking from the bottle.

The 44-year-old, from Middlewich

in Cheshire, then shouted and swore at concerned cabin crew before issuing threats to kill them.

When the property conveyancer was warned to sit down and behave, he pulled out his mobile phone and began chewing on the electrical parts.

The phone’s battery fell onto a seat and began to smoke and smoulder, causing one steward to rush over and place the device into a glass of water.

The easyjet cabin crew manager was said to be “very intimidated” by Flaherty’s outburst and was “worried he would physically harm her”, Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard.

The manager reported the incidents to the pilot, who took the precaution of locking the cockpit door and diverting the plane to Edinburgh Airport

Flaherty was subsequently met by police officers who took him to Livingston station where he racially abused a constable by repeatedly calling him “a n***er”.

Flaherty appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court yesterday where he pleaded guilty to charges including putting the safety of the flight in danger at Edinburgh Airport on 28 January last year.

Fiscal depute Jade Doidge told the court Flaherty had been seen grabbing a bottle of gin from an overhead locker and drinking from the bottle before he started chatting up a woman.

When the female passenger ignored him, Flaherty began shouting and swearing, telling her he was “going to kill her family”.

During the drunken outburst, Flaherty also began struggling with a male passenger after the man had attempted to retrieve a bag from the overhead locker.

Ms Doidge said: “The accused took his mobile phone out and began to destroy it with his bare hands cutting himself in the process. He was seen putting parts of it into his mouth and chew them up.” Flaherty pleaded guilty to three charges.