Community service for gun 'joke'
09.08.08
A man who said he had a gun on a plane at Edinburgh Airport as a ‘joke’ was sentenced to 80 hours' community service yesterday.
Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard Vytauas Gulbinavicius told a cabin crew member he had a gun on a flight to Sharm el Sheik in Egypt. Cabin crew were carrying out final checks before take-off on April 30 when a stewardess noticed a strap around Mr Gulbinavicius's left leg. Thinking it was a piece of hand luggage she asked him to place it under his seat. He replied that it was a gun holster (it was a sun visor's strap).
The 25-year-old mechanic, of Sinclair Road, Aberdeen but originally from Lithuania, said it was a joke but the stewardess told the captain, who contacted the police and took the Flyglobespan Boeing 737 back to the airport terminal. The other 130 passengers eventually took off six hours late as a result of the incident.
Elspeth McDougall, defending, said her client's conduct had been ‘ill-advised and idiotic’. She said Mr Gulbinavicius had been drinking and was in ‘good spirits,' but that neither the crew nor passengers, which included members of his family and friends, had taken him seriously.
She said: ‘He has already paid a very heavy price. While his family and friends were enjoying their first night on holiday, he spent the night in St Leonards' police cells, lost the money he paid for his holiday and has been banned from Flyglobespan flights for life.’
He was sentenced to 80 hours' community service after earlier admitting a breach of the peace.
Add to: del.icio.us | Digg it | Newsvine | NowPublic | Reddit
To book hotel edinburgh airport or car parking edinburgh airport at the lowest price, click on these links to two great edinburgh airport car parking and edinburgh airport hotel price comparison pages.
