It took all seven flight attendants on an Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Seattle last Friday to restrain a ‘violent’ passenger who resisted so fiercely that, at one point, the restraints that were meant to keep him strapped right to the seat started to fail, new court documents reveal.
In an affidavit filed by the FBI in a Seattle district court, details of the incident that occurred as Aer Lingus flight EI-53 was flying at 36,000 feet over Greenland, with nowhere to divert, have now been made public.
The affidavit identifies the suspect as James Bradley Noble, 34, who was sitting in seat 14B during the nine-hour transatlantic flight from Dublin to SeaTac. He has been charged with interference with flight crew members, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment, plus a fine of up to $250,000.
During the flight, Noble allegedly became increasingly disruptive after drinking several alcoholic beverages after takeoff. He started to harass his female seatmate, including making gestures that simulated forcing pills into the victim’s mouth.
He continued to harass the woman until he spilt soda on her, at which point she reported the incident to the flight attendants, who moved her to an alternative seat.
Noble then fell asleep for around 30 minutes, but when he woke up, he headed to the mid-cabin galley where he approached a female flight attendant from behind and “aggressively wrapped his arms” around her, locking his hands together and preventing her from escaping.
The senior crew member intervened, and he was escorted back to his seat, where the female crew member held him down. During this time, Noble started to violently shake his seat and made threats towards the female flight attendants, including telling her that he would “f**k her up.”
The pilots were informed, and the flight attendants prepared a restraint kit. It took all of the seven flight attendants on duty to restrain Noble. Even once he was handcuffed and strapped to the seat, he resisted so violently that the restraints started to fail.
All of the flight attendants were required to restrain and monitor Noble for nearly two hours before he started to calm down. At this point, and now with only an hour and a half left of the flight, some of the flight attendants were able to return to their regular duties.
Even once the Airbus A330 entered U.S. airspace, the pilots decided to continue flying to Seattle rather than diverting the aircraft to a nearby airport on their route. Once safely on the ground at Seattle Tacoma International Airport, law enforcement was waiting to take him into custody.
On June 20, Noble was charged with interference with flight crew members. Following a request from prosecutors, who fear Noble is a flight risk, he was remanded in custody. A follow-up court date has not yet been set.
If found guilty, Noble should realistically expect to be sentenced to time served, rather than face a lengthy custodial sentence. In addition to a term of imprisonment, Noble is also likely to face a bill for reparations to Aer Lingus.
