VILE HIGH THUG
THIS extraordinary footage shows the chaotic moment a drunken lout in a retro Manchester United shirt had to be restrained by fellow passengers after a row about football.
Dad-of-one Adam Whittingham, 32, from Wolverhampton, was jailed for 20 months for his drunken rampage on the three-and-a-half hour Ryanair flight from Agadir in Morocco to Manchester.
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Whittingham went so berserk the pilot opened his cockpit window to plead for help from police once the plane had landed as the situation had "got out of control".
The court heard the Manchester United fan boarded the flight on February 9 and was downing a litre bottle of whisky he had bought from duty free.
He immediately got into an argument with a fellow passenger about football.
After the plane took off he pushed a cabin attendant as he rummaged through the drinks trolley looking for a glass.
Prosecutor Brian Berlyne told Minshull Street crown court in Manchester: "As he drank more whisky, he became louder and louder."
Other passengers moved away or were abused if they attempted to calm him down.
One was punched twice in the face, causing him to complain he had lost a tooth, and another was punched in the forehead.
Footage released by the Crown Prosecution Service showed the chaotic scene on board the aircraft.
Whittingham was seen grappling with passengers desperately trying to restrain him as others screamed and told him "there are kids on the plane".
Comparing him to "some kind of wild animal loose on board the aircraft", the flight's cabin supervisor told the court Whittingham’s behaviour was the worst he had seen from a passenger in his 10-year career.
ATTACKED OFFICER
The cabin staff and pilot decided against diverting the three-and-a-half-hour flight.
By the time the plane landed and, as police officers dashed to the aircraft, the pilot opened the cockpit window and shouted at cops to quickly intervene.
Officers restrained Whittingham after a struggle but one was bitten and had a blood test to rule out hepatitis.
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He was jailed for 20 months for endangering an aircraft and assault causing actual bodily harm last Friday.
The 32-year-old said he had been battling alcohol addiction and was "ashamed" of his behaviour.
Jailing him for 20 months, Judge Tina Landale said: "You were loud and obnoxious. You caused fear and distress to the other passengers."
The court heard he had previous convictions for public order offences and two cautions for assault.
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