Justin Richard Cooke after facing the Cairns Magistrates' Court for allegedly lighting a cigarette in the toilet of Qantas flight QF21 to Tokyo and assaulting a cabin crew member causing $120,000 in expenses (© cairns.com.au via Facebook)

Drunk guy accused of smoking mid-flight costs airline $120K

12/19/2012

Encounter a belligerent drunk guy at the bar and you can show him the door. The belligerent drunk guy on a plane? Well, that requires subduing him, dumping fuel and making an emergency landing to throw him off. The cost? $120,000. Justin Richard Cooke was aboard a Qantas flight from Sydney to Tokyo when half an hour into the journey, he allegedly starting pulling on a bottle of vodka he brought aboard. He then lit a cigarette in the bathroom and punched a flight attendant, who had confronted him, in the chest before being restrained. The pilots were forced to make an emergency landing in Cairns, Australia, and had to dump 60,000 liters of fuel. [Source]

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How should this guy be punished for his bad behavior?