Abusive couple forced plane diversion

1:51pm Friday 8th June 2007

A couple who had sex in an aeroplane toilet and then forced their flight to divert at a cost of more than £12,000 have been sentenced.

Trevor Blake, 44, and Nicola Fitzgerald, 28, became abusive after being refused drinks on board BA flight 2263 from Gatwick to Kingston, Jamaica.

Blake used obscene language, pointed his finger and issued threats against cabin crew after being refused alcohol on the Boeing 777 flight on December 5, 2005. He also scrunched up and threw a piece of paper in temper.

After he had to be restrained, Fitzgerald became distressed and also had to be handcuffed before the flight was diverted to Bermuda and the couple were arrested.

Blake admitted affray and Fitzgerald pleaded guilty to drunkenness on an aircraft when the pair, of Enderby Road, Luton, Bedfordshire, appeared at Brighton Magistrates' Court last month.

A charge against Blake of endangering the safety of an aircraft was dropped by the Crown.

The court heard that the total cost of diverting the plane amounted to £12,682.84.

A judge said their actions had caused fear among other passengers, including mothers and their children. At Hove Crown Court, Recorder Christopher Morris-Coole jailed Blake for 12 months and handed his fiancee Fitzgerald a three-month prison term, suspended for 12 months.

He said: "It is entirely foreseeable that passengers became fearful about their safety, as was the case here. I have read reports that say that mothers and children were on board."

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