Insurance broker spared jail and record after smoke alarm triggered on flight to Dublin

Tom Tuite

An insurance broker who triggered a smoke alarm on a London Stansted—Dublin flight after aggressively ignoring cabin crew just before takeoff has been spared jail and a criminal record.

Father of two, William Horn, 29, of Stone Rings Lane, Harrowgate, England, pleaded guilty on June 2nd to charges under the Air Navigation and Transport Act following his arrest the previous day at Terminal 1, Dublin Airport.

Judge John Brennan had said that if Horn donated €500 to a Dublin charity which has assisted people affected by homelessness and addiction, he would be spared a criminal record.

The judge warned that failure to pay would result in recorded convictions and fines totalling €800.

Horn was released on €300 bail and excused from attending when the case resumed.

Judge John King noted his colleague's order and was shown a receipt of payment by defence solicitor Edward Bradbury.

He applied the Probation of Offenders Act.

Earlier, airport-based Garda Sandip Shrestha said he charged the accused with offensive behaviour on the Ryanair flight and setting off the smoke alarm, and the accused replied, “You are chatting shit”.

Judge John Brennan heard that Horn came to Ireland for a birthday party, which he missed by being held for the night in Garda custody before his court hearing.

Garda Shreshta said on June 1st, he received a call from cabin crew about “a disruptive enger” on the flight. Garda Shreshta learned that Horn was in the toilet, and “a plume of smoke set off the smoke alarm inside the plane”.

The captain also confirmed to the garda that the alarm was also activated in the cockpit.

Judge Brennan heard that it started in Stansted when the aircraft was taxiing to the runway.

The seatbelt signs were activated, but Horn “ignored the cabin crew’s instructions and went to the toilet, and walked by the cabin crew in an aggressive manner”.

Defence solicitor Edward Bradbury told the court his client, who remained silent during the hearing, was pleading guilty and from his perspective, it had been “somewhat an ordeal and in his own mind a misunderstanding”.

The garda agreed with Mr Bradbury that the aircraft was about to take off when Horn decided to go to the toilet.

The accused had no prior convictions in Ireland.

Mr Bradbury said his client has been “chastened” by this ordeal.

The court heard there was no evidence of intoxication, and Horn insisted he was not smoking in the toilet. However, the solicitor acknowledged that, at the very least, the issue had a smattering of recklessness all over it.

The solicitor said it happened when the aircraft was taxiing for take-off, which was aggravating circumstances for the flight attendants.

Judge Brennan had said it happened in a confined environment where people were vulnerable, but on the scale of these offences, it ranked at the lower end.