A lawyer assaulted a cabin crew member during an Air India flight from Mumbai to London.
Simone Burns, otherwise known as Simone O'Broin, from Hove, East Sussex, was refused alcohol when cabin crew decided that she was already the worse for wear with drink during her flight home on 11th November 2018.
The 50 year-old human rights lawyer demanded to see the captain, launched a tirade of racist abuse at the startled crew members and lit up a cigarette.
A snippet of Burns' appalling behaviour has been uploaded to YouTube.
Burns pleaded guilty to one charge of assault by beating and another of being drunk on board an aircraft during a hearing at Uxbridge Magistrates' Court earlier today.
Assault by beating is a summary offence, which has a maximum penalty of 26 weeks imprisonment and/or a fine at level 5; Being drunk on board an aircraft is an either way offence, which has a maximum penalty of an unlimited fine and/or 26 weeks' custody on summary conviction, or an unlimited fine and/or 2 years' custody on conviction on indictment.
Prosecutor Lauren Smith said the nine-hour flight took off at 4.10am as Burns sat in business class with 17 other passengers.
Burns had been given three bottles of wine with her breakfast, but soon demanded more.
Miss Smith said: "She got up from her seat and began swearing and shouting. She was shouting that she was a 'f****** international lawyer' and telling them to 'f*** off'.
"She also shouted: 'You f****** arses, you f****** Indian money-grabbing c****'."
Burns was given verbal and written warnings about her conduct during the flight, but continued to be abusive regardless.
A cabin supervisor, Dastur Pervin, tried to intervene but she was also told to "f*** off", shown the middle finger and assaulted, Miss Smith said.
She added: "Miss Burns was right in her face and she felt scared and when she refused to give Miss Burns more alcohol Miss Burns spat in her face."
Police arrested the irate lawyer the moment the aircraft landed at Heathrow.
Chairman of the bench Robert Della-Sala told Burns: "You clearly put the safety of the aircraft in jeopardy by smoking. You were disruptive to other passengers who must have found the whole experience quite shocking.
"The disruption was clearly over a long period of time, the level of racist abuse was prolonged and unwarranted - there's no excuse for that.
"The spitting in the face must have been one of the most awful things that can happen to anybody, given the transmission of diseases."
The bench decided that their sentencing powers were insufficient for the offences committed by Burns, so committed the case to the Crown Court for sentencing.
Sentencing will take place at Isleworth Crown Court on 4th April 2019.
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