Rowdy stag partiers jailed
Vegas-bound jet forced to land in Winnipeg
The RCMP arrested four British men headed to a stag party in Las Vegas after they became so rowdy the crew had to make an emergency landing in Winnipeg to kick them off the flight.
Greater Manchester Police say the group boarded a flight from Manchester, England, on March 24, 2018.
After takeoff, crew members realized the wild stag group was disturbing fellow passengers by drinking excessive amounts of alcohol and smoking e-cigarettes.
The situation got worse when the men started having “water fights,” throwing water bottles across the cabin and soaking those around them, despite multiple warnings from the crew.
The men also allegedly exposed themselves to passengers.
Police say the crew told the group the flight would be diverted if the behaviour continued.
One of the men, 33-yearold Michael Ward, allegedly said, “You can’t tell me what to do. You are lower down the food chain from me. I am a 40K a year builder. You are just an air hostess. Don’t try and tell me what do.”
The men continued swearing and shouting at both staff and passengers, which led the captain to divert the flight to Winnipeg — dumping 10,000 gallons (about 37, 854 litres) of fuel to land safely.
Upon landing, RCMP arrested the four men. They were sent back to the U.K. the next day.
“The actions of these four men were appalling,” Det. Const. Brad Howarth, of the Greater Manchester Police’s Manchester Airport team, wrote in a release.
“The group’s aggressive actions had no bounds, showing absolutely no consideration for the many children and families on board that had to endure their grossly unacceptable and offensive language and behaviour.”
In a statement to the National Post, the RCMP says it arrested four “unruly” passengers for mischief and causing a disturbance, but did not lay any charges.
The “passengers were arrested and removed from the aircraft and lodged in cells to sober up,” read the statement.
On Tuesday, the men pleaded guilty in Manchester Crown Court to being drunk on an aircraft and causing public disorder.
Scott Capper, 33, Craig Hopwood, 32, and Ward will spend two years in jail while
YOU CAN’T TELL ME WHAT TO DO. YOU ARE LOWER DOWN THE FOOD CHAIN FROM ME.
Daniel Howarth, 35, was sentenced to one year and seven months.
Judge Hilary Manley said the men showed “total contempt” for the crew and their fellow passengers.
“The arrogance and contempt each of you displayed is breathtaking,” she said, according to published reports.
“You were a group of loud, large, drunk men with total contempt for other passengers and misogynistic aggression to the crew.”
Ward, a father of two, who married a month after the flight, “apologizes wholeheartedly,” according to his lawyer, Keith Harrison.