A man bit off part of a British millionaire’s ear in a drink and drug -fuelled air rage attack.
Ben Addison, 31, launched the savage attack on manufacturing boss Neil Endley, 53, punching and kicking him in the head on their flight to Majorca this weekend.
The younger man then proceeded to bite a chunk from his right earlobe and injured three police officers who tried to remove him from the Ryanair flight from Birmingham after it landed at Palma.
But despite all this Addison escaped jail, after confessing to the vicious assault.
The West Midlands-based Brit had been warned he could face up to three years in jail after being charged with five crimes including four assaults.
But at a pre-trial hearing yesterday in the Majorcan capital he admitted wrongdoing and was handed a suspended 10-month jail sentence as part of a plea bargain deal.
Sources said Mr Endley had been advised it was in his interests to renounce his right to prosecute alongside state lawyers and facilitate the deal because of ongoing legal action in the UK against Ryanair.
The millionaire’s legal team are understood to be pursuing a large pay-out from the airline for letting Addison board the plane after binging drink and drugs.
As he walked into court wearing a white shirt and black trousers the convicted air rage passenger hid his head behind his hands and kept his sunglasses on.
He was handed a six-month suspended prison sentence for the assault on Mr Endley and a separate four-month suspended jail term for a crime of resisting arrest.
Addison, full name Benjamin Jack Addison, paid the three Civil Guard officers a total of £1,150 in compensation after the September 18 2020 incident and was fined £630 at yesterday’s court hearing.
He was warned he would be made to do his jail time if he offended in Spain at any time over the next two years.
A two-page indictment, set to be transcribed into a written sentence following the Brit’s admission of guilt, said his cognitive functions had been “diminished by drugs and alcohol” before Ryanair flight FR2162.
It added: “Around 11.25pm on September 18, 2022, and after causing numerous incidents with other passengers, Benjamin Jack Addison leapt on Neil Endley after the plane from Birmingham landed with the intention of harming him.
“He kicked him and punched him several times in the head and then threw him on the floor and bit his right ear, tearing part of his earlobe off and leaving his victim needing stitches.
“When police boarded the plane to put an end to the assault, he acted with clear contempt for the authority they exercised and tried to hinder his arrest by getting into a fight with them during which he lashed out at them and they fell to the ground because of his kicks and other blows.”
Police confirmed at the time the air rage drunk had erupted in fury when he was refused more booze on the half-empty Ryanair flight.
They said he launched into a bloody ‘ear rage’ attack after grabbing a drink another passenger had purchased after trying to open a fridge with alcohol inside.
Mr Endley, from Solihull, Warwickshire - owner of The Bridge Group of engineering firms - said in the aftermath of the attack: “It was a harrowing experience which I am struggling to come to terms with.
“I’ve taken legal advice and have been advised not to say too much as this stage.
“But I want to make it clear that I have no connection with this man, was not travelling with him and had never seen him before in my life when this happened.
“It was made worse having to deal with it by the fact that there were very few people on the plane at 37,000ft.
“It’s very distressing and upsetting as I had nothing to do with this person - I was flying off for a nice weekend away.”
Mr Endley was taken to hospital in Palma for treatment and the repair of the damage took 60 days. He is understood to have been left with a nagging knee complaint which has hindered his ability to go running but no permanent scarring to his ear.
His lawyer Pau Cruelles said after the hearing: “Negotiations have been ongoing recently to resolve this issue and the offender flew to Majorca and was very repentant and demonstrated a good attitude.
“That is something that was taken into account because despite what he did, everyone has the right to make a mistake even though his mistake that day was a big one.”
A source close to Mr Endley said: “His lawyers are pursuing compensation from Ryanair in the UK on the basis his attacker should never have been allowed to board the plane that day.
“He is seeking compensation from the airline and he was advised he should desist from pursuing legal action in Spain because apparently the two processes were incompatible.”
Ryanair has been approached for comment.
