Rowdy Russian plane passenger ‘hog-tied’ with belts and tape
Tourists helped cabin crew restrain man following whisky-fuelled rampage
A rowdy Russian man was tied up by fellow passengers after he refused to stop drinking during a seven-hour flight from Bangkok.
The unnamed 26-year-old “looking completely sober” when he boarded the plane, according to Russian airline S7, which operates the route from the Thai capital to the Siberian city of Novosibirsk.
But he then began “drinking whisky from a bottle he carried on board”, says the Daily Mail - despite airline regulations stating that passengers can only consume alcohol purchased during the flight.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Witnesses say he became “offensive and threatening” about halfway into their journey, raising his voice and using obscene language.
And he continued on his rampage despite repeated warnings from cabin crew and even the pilot, who threatened to make an emergency landing in China or Mongolia to hand him over to police.
A spokesperson for the airline said that staff took the unruly passenger into the plane’s kitchen area to try to calm him after “he started to offend and threaten other passengers and the crew”.
But as his behaviour grew increasingly violent, staff and fellow passengers sprang into action to restrain the hooligan.
The Daily Mail reports that a male passenger struck him, while other offered their belts to “hog-tie” the drunk man, binding his wrists and ankles together to restrain him.
Video footage posted online “shows the man tied with sticky tape and belts on the floor of the aircraft’s galley”, where he spent the remaining four hours of the flight, which was carrying 158 people, reports the Daily Mirror.
Even after he had been restrained, the passenger continued to “behave inadequately, trying to hit his head against the floor”, the airline representative added.
Russian Interior Ministry spokesperson Irina Volk said the man was handed over to transport police upon touchdown in Novosibirsk. He has reportedly been handed a fine for his antisocial antics.
Problems caused by intoxicated passengers have risen in recent years, prompting airlines to take stronger action to curb drunkeness on flights.
Last year, the British government-backed One Too Many campaign was rolled out across nine UK airports, with the airline industry warning that drunk passengers could face fines of up to £80,000 if a plane has to be diverted because of disruptive behaviour.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
'Making a police state out of the liberal university'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
8 looming climate tipping points that imperil our planet
The Explainer New reports detail the thresholds we may be close to crossing
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Try 6 free issues of The Week Junior
Spark your child's curiosity with The Week Junior - the award-winning current affairs magazine for 8-14s.
By The Week Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Gaza hospital blast: What the video evidence shows about who's to blame
Speed Read Nobody wants to take responsibility for the deadly explosion in the courtyard of Gaza's al-Ahli Hospital. Roll the tape.
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Giraffe poo seized after woman wanted to use it to make a necklace
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Helicopter sound arouses crocodiles
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Woman sues Disney over 'injurious wedgie'
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Emotional support alligator turned away from baseball stadium
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Europe's oldest shoes found in Spanish caves
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Artworks stolen by Nazis returned to heirs of cabaret performer
It wasn't all bad Good news stories from the past seven days
By The Week Staff Published