Delta Passenger Arrested After Mooning Crew and Causing ‘Numerous Disturbances’ on Flight to New York

Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images

A 29-year-old Irishman en route to New York refused to wear a mask despite being asked dozens of times, threw a trash can that hit another passenger, and showed his buttocks to a flight attendant, the Associated Press reported on Friday.

A federal complaint, unsealed on Friday, Galway resident Shane McInerney “created … numerous disturbances” during the approximately eight-hour flight from Dublin to New York on Jan. 7.

He was charged with interfering with flight crew, a felony that carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and $250,000 fine.

The complaint states that McInerney went to a flight attendant to complain about the food, at which point he pulled down his pants and mooned the crew member and nearby passengers. The pilot tried to talk to him, at which point McInerney reportedly put his hat on the pilot’s head, put his fist near the pilot’s face, and told him not to touch him.

He additionally refused to sit down when the plane was in its final approach toward John F. Kennedy International Airport, and was taken into custody upon landing.