A drunk dad’s pre-take-off rampage forced a plane to turn around on the runway after he called a cabin crew member an “idiot.”
Lewis Howarth, from Bolton, Greater Manchester, staggered through the corridors verbally abusing a stewardess who had asked him to put on his seatbelt.
As armed police attempted to remove him from the plane, the 36-year-old was heard shouting “I’m going to bite you, you bastard” before attempting to sink his teeth into an officer.
The Jet2 flight, from Manchester to Dalaman, Türkiye, had already been delayed 90 minutes before the Howarth explosion began.
As two officers boarded the plane, the father-of-two shouted: ‘F*** you, b****’ and had to be tackled to the ground for fear of head-butting one of them.
He was then taken off the plane to the applause of his fellow passengers as he tried to lunge at them with his head.
Once on the airlift, he also shouted: ‘I’m going to bite you, you bastard’ as he lashed out with his legs and kicked an officer in the face.
The flight had to delay take-off for an undisclosed period of time while Howarth, who runs a construction company, was placed in a wheelchair and taken to a waiting police van.
Lewis Howarth (pictured) got drunk before take-off and forced a plane to turn around on the runway after calling a member of cabin crew an “idiot”.
Lewis Howarth staggered through the corridors before verbally abusing a stewardess. When armed police tried to remove him from the plane, the 36-year-old man was heard shouting: “I’m going to bite you, you bastard.” Pictured: Howarth on a later flight, just a day after his drunken outburst.
The Jet2 flight, from Manchester to Dalaman, Türkiye, had already been delayed 90 minutes before the Howarth onslaught began. Later, the next day, he boarded another flight with another airline bound for Türkiye, where he was reunited with his partner and children. In the photo: Howarth in Türkiye
He subsequently boarded another flight with a different airline to Turkey the next day, where he joined his partner and children, and even posted a series of frivolous messages on Facebook about his arrest that read: “Okay, let’s try this again.” This time just a coke’, accompanied by a laughing emoji.
Howarth appeared to enjoy his sunny getaway and could be seen riding a jet ski, taking selfies with camels and driving a beach buggy in social media snaps.
At Tameside Magistrates’ Court, Howarth was told he faced up to two years in jail after admitting being drunk on a plane, assaulting an emergency worker and being punched.
He was committed to the Crown Court for sentencing next month after justices of the peace deemed his sentencing powers insufficient.
The incident occurred on August 29 this year when Howarth boarded flight LS921 at Manchester Airport after drinking heavily in the departure lounge.
Gareth Hughes, prosecuting, said: “The fight was due to start at 4.15pm but was delayed until approximately 5.45pm.”
‘A flight attendant noticed that the defendant appeared to be extremely intoxicated.
“He approached the man and asked him to take a seat and put on his seat belt. He tried but ran into trouble due to his drunk nature.
“He was slurring his words and cursing, his pupils were dilated and his coordination was very poor and he couldn’t put on his seatbelt.
‘She informed the pilot of the situation and for the next 10 minutes continued speaking to the accused. But it seemed to remain disruptive.
Howarth appeared to enjoy his sunny getaway and could be seen riding a jet ski, taking selfies with camels and driving a beach buggy in social media snaps.
Pictured: Howarth appears to enjoy driving a beach buggy during his getaway to Türkiye.
“He got up from his seat and called her an ‘asshole’ and they asked him to sit down and told him they could take him out.
“But he stood up and confronted her and she thought he was trying to intimidate her. At that moment they were already heading to the runway from the boarding gate, but when the pilot heard the news of the situation he wanted them to be removed. to the man of the flight.
They then took a taxi back to the gate to wait for the police to arrive. Police encountered the plane and the cabin crew explained that the accused was not listening to safety instructions and cursed at the passengers.
‘The officers were greeted with applause indicating the defendant’s bad behavior before their arrival.
‘The accused was in the back of the plane. He stood up but immediately stumbled and had to grab a seat. He had red eyes, a red face. He was clearly very drunk.
‘One of the officers tried to walk him down the hallway, but when an Ecob officer said, ‘Do you need a hand?’ the defendant said, ‘Fuck you, you moron.’
“The officer asked him if he was addressing him or a passenger and he simply said, ‘Yes.’
Here you can see Howarth taking a selfie with a camel in Türkiye. At Tameside Magistrates’ Court, Howarth was told he faced up to two years in jail after admitting being drunk on a plane, assaulting an emergency worker and assault by beating.
‘As he was aggressive and was not going to let himself go, the officer grabbed him by the neck while the other officer held the defendant’s arms from behind. But he tilts his head toward the passengers still sitting in their seats.
“The officer was worried that he was going to headbutt him, so he removed his legs and they took him off the plane and laid him handcuffed on the air bridge.
‘The officers found a wheelchair nearby to take him to the airfield, where a police van was waiting.
“He was heard saying ‘I’ll bite you, you bastard’ and tried to bite PC Ben Morton on the hand.
‘The other officers took control of his head to prevent him from continuing to try to bite him. He also lashed out with his legs and kicked PC Ecob in the mouth with his feet.
“He did not suffer any injury or serious injury because the defendant was not wearing shoes, he only had socks on his feet, although it caused temporary pain in his mouth and teeth. The officer then punched him in the stomach to prevent further attacks.
In a statement, PC Morton said: “The defendant was irresponsible and had no regard for the safety of other passengers or the police officers he was resisting in a confined space.”
‘I will never understand why people think behavior like this is appropriate. It can never be justified. ‘
Howarth had previous convictions for assaulting police and drug driving. His solicitor Jon Mail said: “There is some inevitability that the matter will reach the Crown Court.”
Rescuing Howarth, JP Brendan Harte told him: ‘We are sorry about this reckless, erratic and frankly dangerous behavior on the plane.
“Although it had not taken off, it was still taxiing and there was a potential for damage that cannot be described.
“It is fortunate that the pilot made that decision because the anxiety of the other passengers and crew must have been high.”
At the end of the hearing, Howarth spoke from the dock to say, “It won’t happen again.” I don’t even drink anymore.’
A Jet 2 spokesperson said: “On August 29 this year, our highly trained crew on board flight LS921 from Manchester to Dalaman decided to return the aircraft to its original position before take-off, so that police could unload Mr. Howarth, due to his terrible behavior.” .
“As a family-owned airline, we take a zero-tolerance approach to disruptive passenger behavior and can confirm that Mr Howarth has been banned from flying with us for life.”