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Freebird Passenger Pleads Guilty Over Drunken Newcastle Flight Delay

Magistrates ordered a pre-sentence report with a return to court on October 10.

Overview

  • Adam McDermott, 36, admitted being drunk on an aircraft at Newcastle Magistrates' Court.
  • Cabin crew reported he had vomited as a Freebird flight prepared to depart at 8:10 p.m. on June 24 and called police.
  • Prosecutors said he refused orders to disembark, stumbled up the aisle with slurred speech, and nearly fell onto another passenger.
  • Officers removed him using an airport wheelchair as he resisted and later arrested him after escorting him from the terminal.
  • The flight was delayed about 40 minutes; he later flew two days afterward, and the court heard he has PTSD after a serious assault and a prior conviction for assaulting an emergency worker.