A man who had to be gagged and taped to his seat when he flew into a drunken rage on an Icelandair flight to New York will be facing charges from the airline, who will not be letting him take a return flight on any of their planes.
reported, a man allegedly drank an entire bottle of the licorice spirit Topaz before boarding the flight. He is reported to have groped a woman seated next to him, screamed that the plane was going to crash, and spat on other passengers.
The man was reportedly overpowered by other passengers, and then restrained in his seat, using tape to bind him. Another passenger took a photo of the suspect, which was subsequently posted to Facebook and then Reddit, from where it spread quickly across the internet. He was arrested by police upon his arrival in New York.
While authorities in New York decided not to prosecute the man, as no witness would testify against him, Vísir now reports that Icelandair will be filing charges against the man.
Guðjón Arngrímsson, a spokesperson for Icelandair, told reporters that charges will be pressed because the suspect threatened and attacked other passengers, and put the entire flight in danger with his behaviour. If found guilty, he could face up to six years in prison.
Guðjón also confirmed for curious reporters that the suspect in question is an Icelandic citizen, putting to rest the question of his nationality that plagued the Icelandic media since the story broke.
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