It's been reported that an Irishman from County Limerick prevented a major emergency aboard a flight from Hong Kong to Heathrow last weekend.
The man from Kilcornan in Co. Limerick was returning home from holidays last Saturday morning when the frightening incident occurred just 15 minutes into the 12-hour flight.
The man had to wrestle an “agitated” passenger to the ground after he apparently tried to break the seal on an emergency exit door.
According to local newspaper Limerick Post,
"The man wasn’t very co-operative with the flight attendants and wouldn’t stay in his seat. He didn’t appear to be drunk, but he could have been on some other substance or had mental issues, I don’t know. He wasn’t shouting or anything, he was very calm and quiet. That was almost more worrying. From my experience on the football field, you’d always be more wary of a fella who is quiet and eyeballing you rather than a fella that’s roaring and shouting.
“He was very troublesome and wouldn’t put on his seatbelt when the signs came on. I was sitting three rows behind him and just happened to be the nearest passenger to him. He looked like he was trying to open the emergency door and I managed to wrestle him to the floor and other passengers and staff helped me restrain him.
“I’ve come up against bigger fellas during matches, he was a reserved type of fella,”
After the passenger was restrained and handcuffed in his seat, the flight continued to London Heathrow.
However half an hour after the first incident the same man was up out of his seat again and causing a disturbance. He again helped to restrain the man with the aid of a New Zealand and English passenger, before the man was moved to the front of the plane for the remainder of the flight.
