Youngest Hilton charged in flight dispute

‘I could get you all fired in five minutes’

• Paris Hilton’s youngest brother was charged Tuesday with interfering with a British Airways flight crew on a trip from London to Los Angeles, during which authorities say he called other passengers peasants and made children cry with his death threats and profane tirades.

Conrad Hilton, 20, shuffled into court in ankle chains, with his hands manacled at his waist. A judge asked if he understood his rights and the charge, which could carry a prison term of up to 20 years.

“Yes, your honour,” he repeated after each question, but he did not enter a plea. He was released on a $100,000 bond, and ordered to appear for arraignment March 5.

The trouble began moments after Flight 269 left the ground July 31. It continued for almost the entire 10½-hour flight, according to a 17-page affidavit by David Gates, a Federal Bureau of Investigations agent.

Mr. Hilton ignored instructions to keep his seat belt fastened and began pacing the aisle as the aircraft ascended.

When told to return to his seat, he became unruly and, in a series of tirades, threatened to kill several flight attendants and a co-pilot, and get them fired.

“I could get you all fired in five minutes. I know your boss,” he said in one of the document’s few quotes that did not include an expletive. “My father will pay this out, he has done it before. Dad paid $300,000 last time.”

His parents are socialite Kathy Hilton and businessman Rick Hilton, grandson of the Hilton Hotels founder.

He said he was angry over a breakup with a girlfriend and wanted to smoke marijuana. At one point, he went to a lower- deck washroom and the odour of pot wafted out, the affidavit said.

When confronted by the co-pilot, Mr. Hilton ran to an upper-deck washroom and smoked a cigarette. He eventually fell asleep and was handcuffed to his seat.