A businessman who was ‘frogmarched’ off a Ryanair flight by six police officers after getting drunk and high-fiving other passengers has been spared jail.
‘Disruptive’ Daniel Day, 32, was ordered off the flight as the holiday jet to Tenerife was taxiing towards the runway ahead of takeoff.
Cops were summoned to meet the aircraft after the captain turned round and returned to the departure gate at Manchester Airport. But when asked to go quietly, Day – who runs a gas utility company in Cumbria – told the cabin crew: ‘I’m not f***ing getting off, f*** off.’
He then high-fived other passengers and grabbed onto the head rest of a seat before the officers intervened to restrain him and escorted him off the plane.
‘Disruptive’ Daniel Day, 32, was ordered off the flight as the holiday jet to Tenerife was taxiing towards the runway ahead of takeoff (Day is pictured)
When asked to go quietly, Day told the cabin crew: ‘I’m not f***ing getting off, f*** off.’ (Day is pictured outside Minshull Street Crown Court, Manchester)
Day who was due to help celebrate his parents’ wedding anniversary admitted being ‘tipsy’ on the plane but claimed he suffered injuries to his face and back during his arrest.
At Minshull Street Crown Court, Day from Carlisle faced up to two years jail after he admitted being drunk on an aircraft. But he was sentenced to three months jail suspended for two years and was also ordered to complete 150 hours unpaid work and pay £530 in costs.
The court heard the incident took place on 4.10pm on July 16 this year when Day was about to jet to the Canary islands with friends.
Prosecutor Miss Megan Edwards said officers were alerted to reports of a ‘disruptive passenger’, with six cops arriving to the jet to deal with the defendant.
‘It seems his friend had been asked to leave the flight due to an illness and the defendant became vocal and angry towards cabin crew,’ Ms Edwards told the court.
‘Due to his behaviour, the decision was made by the captain to remove the defendant. They asked him to leave by he refused and he became verbally aggressive, telling them and other passengers to ‘f*** off’. He also stated he ‘would not be f***ing getting off’.
‘The officers approached him as he was stood in the middle of the aisle and told him he would have to leave the plane.
Day (pictured) high-fived other passengers and grabbed onto the head rest of a seat before the officers intervened to restrain him and escorted him off the plane
The jet was taxiing on the runway at Manchester and had to be turned around (file photo)
‘At first the defendant appeared to comply with the request but he then began to stall, high-fiving other passengers and he also held onto a back seat rest. To avoid any further escalation, he was restrained by the officers and was removed from the aircraft. They could smell alcohol on his breath and he was transported to custody.’
Day had a previous conviction for criminal damage from 2012 for which he was fined.
His counsel Miss Niamh Ingham said Day was ‘fully compliant’ during his arrest and ‘deeply sorry and very remorseful’ about his actions.
She added: ‘This is a hard working defendant who owns his company described as a two-man band. They work in the gas industry, laying gas and water mains and are sub contractors to a larger firm. He has plans to develop his company further and plans to buy his own house and wishes to continue leading a productive life.
‘He is deeply sorry and very remorseful for what happened and will not be before any court again. There is no dispute he was intoxicated but he says he perhaps wasn’t as intoxicated as some had suggested.’
Sentencing Day, the judge Mr Recorder Mark Ford KC said: ‘What distinguishes this case from others was the fact the plane was not in the air. This case was not as a serious as others involving this kind of conduct.
‘You did seek to minimise your culpability by suggesting you were tipsy.
‘You are a hard working man and I have read a multitude of character references and I see no reason to reject the submission that this offence was to be regarded an isolated example of criminal conduct and that it is extremely unlikely you will appear before the courts again.’