Tane Norton charged with offensive behaviour on Sydney flight

A construction worker has faced court after he threatened to urinate on passengers and cabin crew on a flight from Brisbane to Sydney.

A Queensland steelworker who threatened to urinate on cabin crew members and passengers on a flight from Brisbane to Sydney has received a steep fine for his behaviour.

Tane Norton, 40, was charged with behaving in an offensive or disorderly manner under Commonwealth legislation after he lashed out at cabin crew aboard a Virgin Australia flight from Brisbane to Sydney on June 23 this year.

Court documents tendered to Tweed Heads Local Court reveal a Virgin cabin crew member reported Norton went to the lavatory several times during the flight but seemingly had not flushed the toilet, drawing attention to his actions.

Norton was attempting to use the lavatory while the seatbelt sign was on and the plane was taxiing into the gate when he turned to one of the rear cabin crew members and told him to “f*ck off”.

Norton then started kicking and punching the lavatory door aggressively, verbally abusing the crew and threatening to urinate on the crew and passengers on board.

Tane Norton, a Brisbane rail construction worker, threatened to urinate on plane passengers and cabin crew after a disorderly outburst on a Brisbane to Sydney flight.

“If you don’t open the door I’ll piss on everyone here and I’ll piss on you” he said, according to court documents.

Australian Federal Police officers arrived on the scene when the plane landed and were approached by Virgin ground staff just outside the gate, who said Norton was “committing violent acts against the aircraft”.

The accused immediately attempted to leave the scene, refusing to provide any official identification, stating “I‘m not going to make your job any easier”.

At court, magistrate Geoff Dunlevy said that Norton’s conduct was very offensive and very disorderly.

“It would have upset a number of people and would have led them to be very concerned as to who you were and why you were behaving that way,” Mr Dunlevy said.

“Your conduct was completely unjustified. The reason you must stay seated and restrained is a matter of public safety.”

The Kippa Ring man told the court that he just had a 14-hour shift working as a steel fixer on the Boggo Road Cross River Rail station.

“I have no excuse for my actions and what I did. I’m very sorry for taking up the court’s time,” Norton said.

Norton pleaded guilty to behaving in an offensive or disorderly manner under Commonwealth legislation and Mr Dunlevy convicted him and fined him $1500.

Originally published as Tane Norton charged with offensive behaviour on Sydney flight