British woman jailed for trying to open plane door mid-flight

13 February 2020 - 15:31
By Busang Senne
The woman was slapped with a bill of R1.64m and found guilty of diverting a flight because of erratic and potentially dangerous behaviour.
Image: PASCAL PAVANI / AFP The woman was slapped with a bill of R1.64m and found guilty of diverting a flight because of erratic and potentially dangerous behaviour.

A UK woman was sentenced to two years in jail on Wednesday after attempting to open a plane door mid-flight, reported CNN.

The incident happened on a Jet2 aircraft with more than 200 passengers aboard, which was flying from London Stansted Airport to Dalaman in Turkey in June 2019, and caused the flight to be diverted.

The convicted Chloe Haines had to be restrained from opening the plane door as she said “I’m going to kill you all” and was fined R1.64m for what the airline called “extremely disruptive behaviour” that endangered the lives of crew and passengers.

According to the Chelmsford Crown Court, Haines had a mixture of alcohol and medication on the flight and barely recollects the incident. However, her lawyer said that Haines was not intoxicated but struggled with her mental health.