A drywaller from Amhurstview, Ontario is potentially facing up to two decades behind bars.
Brandon Courneyea, the defendant, admitted to interfering with a flight attendant last month. His actions opened him up to a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 USD fine.
Before Courneyea boarded the Air Canada flight, he took an undisclosed amount of cocaine according to court documents. What occurred on the flight as a result, include:
- Yelling at people for looking at him
- Threw paper at a passenger
- Moved erratically through the aircraft without shoes on
- Grabbed a hot coffee pot and swung it at passengers and crew
- Tried to open the aircraft cabin door
- Once again, grabbed a coffee pot before being subdued
According to the plea agreement, when he went for the aircraft door he told people around him that "it would only take one guy to take the plane down and that he wanted to take everyone with him."
Once he was able to be subdued, he was bound to his seat with zip ties. The flight was diverted to Orlando, where he was arrested.
He spent a number of days in a hospital before making his first court appearance. A Florida judge agreed to release Courneyea on $125,000 bail and allow him to return to Canada in the weeks prior to his guilty plea. Courneyea is a father of five, two of which have special needs, and at the moment his wife is caring for them on her own.
His sentencing is set for September 11, 2017.
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