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Thursday, 30 October 2014 - 11:26
Ruling in violent plane passenger's outburst set for Nov.
The court will rule on November 12th in the case against the man who caused so much havoc on a plane at the end of 2012 that the captain had to make an unplanned landing.
On Wednesday the prosecutor demanded before the court in Haarlem that the man be sentenced to 9 months in prison.
The 48 year old Werner L. from Almere caused such a commotion on board of ArkeFly flight OR355 from Amsterdam to Fortaleza in Brazil on November 6th 2012, that the captain was forced to make an interim landing in Tenerife. There Guardia Civil removed the man from the plane.
According to the prosecutor, L. was so unmanageable, presumably due to alcohol, that the safety of the aircraft was at risk. L. refused to follow the instructions of the captain and constantly acted violently. He smoked on board, yelled and scolded, threatened fellow passengers, kicked chairs, smeared the walls of the toilet with blood and threatened the crew.
L., who had to be calmed on the plane with injections, testified in court that he thoroughly regrets the incident. He says that he can not remember the incident and asked for compassion. The man is a security guard and could lose his job. He has an unblemished past and no criminal record. "Something inexplicable happened to me that day that made me a terrible man" he said.
L. had to appear in court in January. The case was postponed because the man could not arrange a lawyer due to lack of money. At the time it turned out that he had made a settlement with ArkeFly for 10 thousand euro to avoid civil proceedings.
L's lawyer said that her client is scarred for life. She found that the evidence faltered at key points and asked the court to mitigate punishment. The ruling is on November 12th.