‘Wine or I’ll blow up plane’
Aformer Instagram glamour model threatened to blow up a plane from Melbourne to Auckland after demanding a glass of wine. Hannah Lee Pierson, 31, was charged over the dramatic mid-flight disturbance on an Air New Zealand flight on November 7 last year.
Pierson admitted a charge of disorderly behaviour and one of disruptive conduct towards a crew member when she appeared in Christchurch District Court yesterday.
There were 72 other passengers on board the transtasman flight.
After the crew began serving food and beverages, Pierson requested a glass of wine. But when crew told her that her ticket did not cover wine, and that she would need to buy one from the menu, she began abusing a member of the flight crew.
“I don’t give a f***, get me a f****** wine,” she yelled at the top of her voice, the summary of facts states.
She then stood up and yelled: “I’ll f****** get it myself, give me the f****** wine” and called the attendant a “b****”.
As Pierson tried to leave her seat, crew managed to divert her into a vacant row of seats and hold her there.
Pierson then grabbed a crew member’s arm in a tight grip, squeezing hard.
She began making movements with her head that caused other staff members to believe she was going to head-butt the crew member, the summary
says.
Pierson continuously tried to get out of her seat, with crew especially concerned, given that she was near an emergency exit.
Several times, she then yelled: “Get me a f****** wine or I’ll blow up the plane.”
Crew handcuffed her, then strapped her to the chair using spare seatbelts.
Her tirade continued with “total disregard for the other passengers in the vicinity that included young children”.
About 90 minutes before arriving at Auckland Airport, she fell asleep.
But when she woke up on landing, she continued her verbal abuse.
After pleading guilty yesterday, her lawyer said she intended to apply for a discharge without conviction, saying a conviction would have travel consequences.
Judge Alastair Garland remarked that airlines would probably be “quite happy” if she didn’t travel.
The judge also asked her lawyer if she had an alcohol problem, and she accepted that alcohol has been an issue in the past. He remanded her on bail to be sentenced on June 23.