Drunk gran jailed for sparking terror scare after claiming fellow FlyBe passenger was a member of ISIS and had a bomb
Staff described how former nurse Elaine Ryan, 60, was seen clutching half-empty bottle of vodka
A DRUNK gran terrified travellers after claiming a fellow plane passenger belonged to ISIS and had a bomb on board, a court has heard.
Former nurse Elaine Ryan was jailed for seven months following the terrifying rant on a flight between Glasgow and Birmingham in March.
FlyBe staff had to haul the mum-of-three from her seat and strap her to a chair in the plane’s galley in front its 48 passengers.
But the 60-year-old continued her foul-mouthed rant and even accused a steward of belonging to the terrorist group.
Ryan, of Coventry, admitted being drunk on an aircraft and obstructing a police officer at Birmingham crown court on Wednesday.
Sentencing, Judge Melbourne Inman QC, the Recorder of Birmingham, said: "You began to shout at another passenger that he was a member of Islamic State and was going to blow the plane up.
"Some passengers were clearly very frightened and they included children.”
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The self-confessed alcoholic was on her way to Birmingham to visit her daughter, who had just given birth.
Staff described how she clutched a half-empty bottle of vodka in one hand and an unlit cigarette in the other.
Ryan’s behaviour was so rowdy that the plane’s pilot considered an emergency landing and eventually had to request priority landing at Birmingham.
Prosecutor Lal Amarasinghe said stewards tried to sober her up with food and water but Ryan soon became abusive.
He added: "Passengers had a very distressing time.
"When they finally landed and police boarded they started shouting, angrily shouting at her and telling her what a disgrace she was.”
The court heard Ryan, a former nurse with 30 years’ experience in the NHS, even demanded to smoke as police attempted to arrest her.
She then scratched one of the officers causing an injury.
When interviewed the next day she admitted she had no memory of the flight.
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