27:
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took the bottle back to his seat and secured it between his legs. A male flight attendant approached him and told him "we're going to take a little break from drinking now" to which
Finneran responded by later getting out of his seat and threatening to assault the man (in the process delaying the attendant from bringing a first aid kit to another passenger who had complained of illness). After the crew supervisor intervened, Finneran was returned to his seat and appeared to calm down.
908:
896:
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261:. After having two glasses of champagne, he demanded to be moved into the row reserved for crewmembers, so they can rest on long international flights, complaining that otherwise he was in the smoking section. Finneran began walking around the cabin, threatening crewmembers (at one point shoving Manskar) and pouring himself more champagne from bottles in the galley, against regulations.
264:
As takeoff approached, Manskar was able to take the champagne bottle away from
Finneran and persuade him to return to his seat. After the plane was airborne, Finneran was served another two glasses of red wine. Another crewmember again found him in the galley pouring himself more wine, whereupon he
145:, had been refused further alcoholic beverages when cabin crew determined he was intoxicated. After they thwarted his attempt to pour himself more, Finneran threatened one flight attendant with violence and attacked another one. He then went into the first-class compartment, which was also carrying
272:
Tracking his excrement on his shoes, and further wiping the soiled napkins on the walls, Finneran then locked himself in the lavatory. With
Manskar's help, his business partner and traveling companion, Susan Bergan, was able to open the lock and returned Finneran to his seat, where they both fell
353:
that he had been angry when the crew stopped serving him alcohol. "I became annoyed and said words that implied a physical threat," which he confirmed were, specifically, "I will bust your ass!" Finneran told Gold that he hoped he was sober in court and had not had any alcohol in the previous 24
268:
A meal was served, after which the crew began drawing the curtains across the entrance to first class. Manskar was taking a break when she felt her seat shake. When she got up, Finneran pushed her through the curtains, then entered the first class galley. He found a drinks cart, climbed atop it,
415:
In the years since, the incident has been recalled as the worst case of air rage ever, particularly when compared to other incidents that have made the news. "It'll be hard to ever top that nasty bit of air rage, at least short of an actual act of terrorism",
386:
try drinking for 14 hours and see if you can tell the difference between a food cart and a bathroom" and "Thought he heard somebody yell, 'We're going to crash!' and that was just something he always wanted to do before he died."
346:, he said, but Soares' security would not let him use the first-class lavatory even though Finneran himself was in that section. "My client was suffering from a dire medical emergency" which the airline should have attended to.
189:
toilet to his seat just outside that section by Soares's security. He pleaded guilty and was fined $ 5,000, with two years' probation; he had also agreed to perform community service and pay $ 48,000 to reimburse
357:
At that hearing
Stillman told the court that his client had agreed to reimburse the airline $ 1,000 for its cleaning costs, as well as every other passenger's airfare, which came to $ 48,000, and do 300 hours of
277:
perfume throughout the aisles of the plane to further mask the smell of feces; food service was also canceled due to the unhygienic conditions. Crew rest periods were suspended to attend to
Finneran.
336:
Finneran's attorney, Charles
Stillman, denied both in court and out that his client's alcohol consumption had anything to do with the incident. "It's all totally false, a horrible lie", he told the
928:
769:
326:. He was charged with interfering with a flight crew and assaulting and intimidating a flight attendant and released after pleading not guilty and posting $ 100,000 bond. Ten days later
933:
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350:
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granted the prosecution's request to amend the terms of
Finneran's bail to require that he attend an alcohol counseling program and not fly anywhere without the court's permission.
170:
Food service was canceled due to the unsanitary conditions and the crew sprayed perfume all over the cabin instead to suppress the smell of the feces. The pilots tried to divert to
545:
319:
478:
269:
crouched down, lowered his pants and underwear, and defecated on the floor behind it, in full view of other passengers, using the linen napkins to wipe himself.
412:
that helps convicts find employment and housing after their sentences end. United still uses 976 as a flight number, currently from Newark to
Shannon, Ireland.
178:, but were refused since the presence of foreign dignitaries on board created a security risk. Finneran had by then calmed down and returned to his seat.
948:
938:
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in the hopes of having
Finneran taken off the flight. Controllers there refused permission since among the other passengers in first class were
777:
397:
100" list of the least likable things about each year; as a mitigating factor it noted that
Finneran's behavior was more entertaining than any
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127:
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Finneran's arrest and the details of the incident made national news and were fodder for popular comedy. A week afterwards,
349:
In February 1996 Finneran pleaded guilty to threatening a flight attendant. He told magistrate judge Steven M. Gold of the
422:
wrote in 2015 after an incident involving hotel heir Conrad Hilton III on a flight from London to Los Angeles. Writing in
514:
219:
164:
238:
before TCW, becoming an expert on Third World debt, particularly in Latin America. He was returning to his home in
215:
194:'s cleanup costs and the other passengers for their airfare. The incident has been recalled as the worst case of
318:
After the flight landed at Kennedy in the early morning hours of October 20, Finneran was taken into custody by
327:
310:
with foreign dignitaries aboard, unless the aircraft is malfunctioning, are discouraged due to security risks.
273:
asleep after the crew put a blanket on Finneran to cover the odor of his soiled clothing. The crew sprayed
679:
409:
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and their security details, traveling to New York for the United Nations' 50th anniversary celebrations.
850:
746:
442:
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26:
546:"Conrad Hilton III's Meltdown at 35,000 Feet Renews Talk Of The Perplexing Phenomenon of Air Rage"
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830:
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227:
167:, using linen napkins to wipe himself, and later tracked and smeared his feces around the cabin.
437:
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in 2006, Eric Felten described the incident as the "nadir" of drunken misbehavior on a flight.
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on October 19-20, 1995. Upon landing, one passenger, Gerard Finneran, was arrested by the
8:
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and fined $ 5,000. Gold further ordered him to get counseling and not drink when flying.
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243:
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577:
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418:
408:. In the later years of his life, he volunteered with the South Forty Corporation, a
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and charged with interfering with a flight crew and threatening a flight attendant.
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Sharon Manskar, one of the flight attendants, recalled that Finneran, seated in
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718:
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613:"Passenger Accused of Defecating on Airliner Pleads Guilty To Making A Threat"
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Finneran's attorneys claimed he had been suffering from a severe case of
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A United Airlines B767-300ER similar to the one involved in the incident
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231:
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60:
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United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York
257:, had become disruptive even before takeoff on October 19 from
539:
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Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in 1995
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hours save a glass of wine with his dinner the night before.
582:""Worst ever" air rage passenger jailed for drunken rampage"
342:. Finneran had been experiencing a severe and acute case of
534:
206:
Finneran was a Wall Street investment banker who was then
773:
680:"Complaint – United States of America v. Gerald Finneran"
323:
135:
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Aviation accidents and incidents involving state leaders
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635:
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ranked the incident as No. 22 for 1995 in its annual "
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Gregory, Alex; Huyck, Peter (January–February 1996).
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214:(TCW). A member of the first graduating class of the
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159:and their security details. There, he climbed on a
722:. New York, NY: Sussex Publishers, LLC. p. 53
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643:"Paid Notice: Deaths Finneran, Gerard Buckley"
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601:
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515:"Unruly Air Passenger Gets Fine, Probation"
141:During the flight, Finneran, a Wall Street
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610:
25:
707:
705:
280:By this point, the plane had reached the
218:where he was an athlete, he later got an
949:October 1995 crimes in the United States
734:
362:. In May he was sentenced to two years'
259:Ministro Pistarini International Airport
120:Ministro Pistarini International Airport
96:Ministro Pistarini International Airport
939:United Airlines accidents and incidents
611:Neumeister, Larry (February 12, 1996).
369:
921:
823:
742:"Court grounds allegedly rowdy bizman"
702:
290:Luis Muñoz MarĂn International Airport
185:and had been prevented from using the
172:Luis Muñoz MarĂn International Airport
118:was a regularly scheduled flight from
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404:At the end of 2004, Finneran died of
128:John F. Kennedy International Airport
107:John F. Kennedy International Airport
543:
512:
382:Gerard Finneran Excuses", such as "
313:
13:
776:. October 27, 1995. Archived from
14:
960:
824:Felten, Eric (December 2, 2006).
770:"Top Ten Gerard Finneran Excuses"
479:"Boorish biz flier rode no class"
477:Stasi, Linda (November 2, 1995).
906:
894:
882:
870:
858:
826:"Here's to Highflying Libations"
792:
544:Reed, Dan (February 5, 2015).
246:, where he had graduated from
1:
448:
351:Eastern District of New York
301:Argentinian foreign minister
154:Argentinian foreign minister
7:
513:Borg, Gary (May 15, 1996).
431:
410:not-for-profit organization
10:
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747:United Press International
443:List of air rage incidents
116:United Airlines Flight 976
20:United Airlines Flight 976
212:Trust Company of the West
201:
102:
91:
81:
71:
66:
56:
45:20 October 1995
41:
36:
24:
831:The Wall Street Journal
425:The Wall Street Journal
248:Iona Preparatory School
228:Ross School of Business
438:Crime in New York City
284:. The pilot sought to
240:Greenwich, Connecticut
236:Drexel Burnham Lambert
224:University of Michigan
216:U.S. Air Force Academy
16:1995 air-rage incident
580:(November 25, 2015).
320:Port Authority police
176:San Juan, Puerto Rico
370:Aftermath and legacy
322:and arrested by the
294:Portuguese president
147:Portuguese president
491:on December 1, 2017
484:New York Daily News
406:Alzheimer's disease
344:traveler's diarrhea
339:New York Daily News
244:Larchmont, New York
230:. He had worked at
183:traveler's diarrhea
21:
750:. October 30, 1995
686:. October 23, 1995
648:The New York Times
578:Frauenfelder, Mark
328:federal magistrate
308:Emergency landings
242:, near his native
72:Aircraft type
19:
651:. January 3, 2005
401:would have been.
360:community service
208:managing director
143:investment banker
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911:
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901:Criminal justice
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487:. Archived from
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314:Arrest and trial
76:Boeing 767-300ER
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50:
29:
22:
18:
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780:on May 14, 2005
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696:The Smoking Gun
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520:Chicago Tribune
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399:in-flight movie
376:David Letterman
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161:service trolley
86:United Airlines
48:
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32:
17:
12:
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378:read off the "
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304:Guido di Tella
275:Karl Lagerfeld
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157:Guido di Tella
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98:, Buenos Aires
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913:New York City
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865:United States
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714:"The Spy 100"
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132:New York City
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92:Flight origin
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23:
835:. Retrieved
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819:
807:. Retrieved
794:
782:. Retrieved
778:the original
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752:. Retrieved
745:
736:
724:. Retrieved
717:
694:– via
688:. Retrieved
653:. Retrieved
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622:. Retrieved
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591:. Retrieved
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555:. Retrieved
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524:. Retrieved
518:
493:. Retrieved
489:the original
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423:
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297:Mário Soares
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150:Mário Soares
140:
124:Buenos Aires
115:
114:
837:October 17,
809:October 17,
804:FlightAware
784:October 17,
754:October 15,
726:October 15,
690:October 14,
655:October 17,
624:October 16,
593:October 13,
587:Boing Boing
557:October 13,
526:October 13,
495:October 13,
331:Joan Azrack
255:first class
187:first-class
103:Destination
944:Defecation
923:Categories
449:References
109:, New York
49:1995-10-20
877:Argentina
800:"UAL 976"
364:probation
282:Caribbean
165:defecated
889:Aviation
432:See also
232:Citibank
196:air rage
82:Operator
67:Aircraft
61:Air rage
37:Incident
851:Portals
380:Top Ten
210:of the
57:Summary
47: (
551:Forbes
419:Forbes
286:divert
220:M.B.A.
202:Flight
198:ever.
192:United
222:from
839:2020
811:2020
786:2020
756:2020
728:2020
692:2020
657:2020
626:2020
595:2020
559:2020
528:2020
497:2020
299:and
234:and
163:and
152:and
42:Date
774:CBS
719:Spy
395:Spy
390:Spy
384:You
324:FBI
288:to
226:'s
174:in
136:FBI
130:in
126:to
122:in
925::
828:.
802:.
772:.
744:.
716:.
704:^
682:.
665:^
645:.
634:^
615:.
603:^
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457:^
250:.
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813:.
788:.
758:.
730:.
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51:)
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
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