A Delta Air Lines Inc. passenger created havoc on an eight-hour flight from Dublin to New York after repeatedly refusing to wear a face mask and exposing his backside in Delta’s first-class section, according to U.S. prosecutors.
He “pulled down his pants and underwear and mooned a flight attendant and passengers,” the prosecutors said in a statement. “At least one passenger found the defendant’s conduct to be scary,” FBI agent Mark Palagiano said in a warrant for the arrest of Shane McInerney.
McInerney, 29, was on the way to Florida aboard Delta Air Lines flight 45 on Jan. 7. He was to take a job teaching soccer at a Daytona school. He appeared in federal court in Brooklyn on Jan. 14 but details of the charges were unsealed Friday.
The Galway, Ireland, resident is charged with intentionally assaulting and intimidating a member of the flight crew, a felony that carries a maximum prison term of 20 years. He was released on a $20,000 bond. His lawyer, Benjamin Zev Yaster, declined to comment.
U.S. Magistrate Judge James Cho agreed to put the case on hold until March 15 because plea discussions are underway, according to court records.
Prosecutors claim McInerney also threw a beverage can and struck another passenger in the head, and took off his cap and put it on the flight captain’s head. Two hours into the flight, McInerney also put his fist in the flight captain’s face during a break, telling him “Don’t touch me,” according to the arrest warrant.
The flight crew “considered diverting the airplane to another airport to remove the defendant before the completion of the trip,” Palagiano said in the arrest warrant.
