Irish man’s outrageous reaction to mask rules during flight to New York

An Irish man is facing 20 years in jail after he refused to comply with a simple mask request, mooning passengers and throwing a can at an innocent bystander.

An Irishman who refused to wear a Covid mask during a flight from Dublin to New York and exposed his rear end to a flight attendant is facing up to 20 years in prison.

Shane McInerney, 29 and from Galway, is alleged to have behaved this way on a Delta Airlines flight on January 7.

He appeared before a judge in New York a week later and was charged with “intentionally assaulting and intimidating a member of a flight crew,” according to a criminal complaint unsealed Friday.

The unsealed criminal complaint alleged Mr McInerney repeatedly refused to wear a mask, threw a beverage can and hit a passenger in the head, and “pulled down his pants and underwear and mooned a flight attendant and passengers.”

Masks are mandatory in airports and on planes. Picture: Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP

A court spokesman said that if convicted of this felony charge McInerney could be sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Mr McInerney was headed to Florida to take up a job at a football academy.

He was released on $20,000 ($A27,000) bail as he awaits trial.

The Federal Aviation Administration said in January 2021 it would observe a zero-tolerance policy toward people who reject federal rules mandating mask-wearing on US domestic flights.

Delta is one of many airlines grappling with a rise in violent incidents. Picture: Brandon Bell/Getty Images/AFP

This came as flight attendants reported a high number of incidents of verbal and physical abuse from travellers who refuse to wear a mask.

An American Airlines jetliner headed from Miami to London turned around in mid-flight Thursday because a passenger refused to wear a Covid mask.

And late last year, a woman was arrested by the FBI after she went on an expletive-laden tirade and allegedly slapped a fellow passenger aboard a Delta flight from Tampa to Atlanta.

The woman — identified as Patricia Cornwall — was arrested by federal police after the wild incident aboard Flight 2790 just after Christmas last year, Atlanta police said in a statement.

Police accused her of causing a midair “disturbance” that led to the “injury of fellow passengers and Delta employees”.

- With AFP