Delta Passenger Moons His Fellow Travelers in Insane Mask Meltdown
Shane McInerney’s alleged outburst came aboard a flight from Dublin to JFK earlier this month.
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A passenger on a Delta Air Lines flight from Ireland to New York City "repeatedly refused to wear a facemask despite being asked dozens of times" by the flight crew, at one point stripping down to "moon" his fellow travelers, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Friday.
Shane McInerney's alleged public meltdown took place on Jan. 7, while Delta flight number 45 was making its way across the Atlantic from Dublin to JFK airport, the complaint states.
In addition to endangering himself and others by going maskless, McInerney "threw an empty beverage can, which hit the head of Individual-1, who was a passenger on the above-referenced flight," and "kicked the back of the passenger seat in front of him, disturbing Individual-2, another passenger," the filing continues.
McInerney then allegedly walked from his economy-class seat to the first class section of the plane, where he "complained about his food to Individual-3, one of the flight attendants; and—in the process of being escorted back to his seat—pulled down his pants and underwear and exposed his buttocks to Individual-3 and passengers sitting nearby."
Later during the eight-hour journey, the pilot—identified in the complaint as "Individual-4"—came out of the cockpit to speak with McInerney about his behavior.
"During the conversation, the defendant twice took off his cap, placed the cap on Individual-4's head, and removed it from Individual-4's head," the complaint says. "The defendant also put one of his fists up close to Individual-4's face and said: 'Don't touch me.'"
As the aircraft made its final approach to JFK, McInerney "disobeyed the orders of flight attendants," standing up in the aisle and refusing to sit back down, according to the complaint, which says that "at least one passenger found the defendant's conduct to be scary."
"Because of the defendant's numerous disturbances…flight crew members considered diverting the airplane to another airport, the complaint explains.
The FBI was alerted to "multiple disturbances" on McInerney's flight while the plane was still in the air. When the flight landed at JFK, he was arrested by airport police.
In an email to The Daily Beast, Delta spokesperson Morgan Durrant confirmed the incident and said, "Delta has zero tolerance for unruly behavior at our airports and aboard our aircraft as nothing is more important that the safety of our people and our customers."
