safety
Aer Lingus Passenger Pleads Guilty to Flight Crew Interference
Photo: Joe Ravi / CC BY-SA 3.0 — via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) · source
A passenger who forced an entire seven-person cabin crew to restrain him on a June transatlantic Aer Lingus flight has pleaded guilty to federal interference charges. James Bradley Noble assaulted a flight attendant and repeatedly disrupted the Dublin-to-Seattle flight, leading pilots to authorize the use of handcuffs. He now faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, although prosecutors are expected to recommend time served. For flight crews, the guilty plea reinforces the federal justice system's ongoing crackdown on severe inflight disruptions.