Hermes heir Grabs Pilot's Crotch

[Mike Scott]

AN heir to French luxury goods empire Hermes had to be tied down on an Air France plane after fighting crew members and seizing the captain's crotch.

Mathias Guerrand-Hermes was arrested yesterday when the flight from Paris landed at JFK airport in New York. He was charged with "interference with a flight crew" and freed by a court after posting a $US50,000 ($77,000) bond.

Prosecutors allege Guerrand-Hermes, a member of the family behind the legendary handbags and scarfs brand, appeared drunk and was bothering passengers in the first class section of Air France flight 008.

When the captain intervened, Guerrand-Hermes "grabbed the captain's genital area", according to the complaint sheet.

He allegedly "attempted to punch the captain".

"At that point the defendant was tackled by the flight crew" who "were able to restrain the defendant ... with handcuffs and shackles." Finally, Guerrand-Hermes was tied to his seat.

Robert Nardoza, spokesman for the US Attorney's Office, said interfering with a crew carries a maximum sentence of 20 years prison.

However, "it's likely he'll face from zero to six months if he has no prior criminal record. Nobody was injured. Although he attempted to assault the pilot, the pilot was not injured," Mr Nardoza said.
The Hermes' press office said the matter was "completely private" and that Guerrand-Hermes does not work at the family firm.

[Philip Argy]

I wonder if the captain had a pitch problem after that experience

[Stephen Brown]

Two words:-

Airbus
Joystick.

You can fill in the blanks as you see fit.

[Hugh Jarse]

Obviously security procedures aren't as comprehensive over there With the major Oz airlines the flight crew under no circumstances leave the flight deck for security matters such as this. It's up to the cabin crew and ABP's (if required) to deal with it.

[Mike Scott]

I was going to add that same comment to my original post regarding the cockpit being involved in cabin incidents....thanks to 911 we are not allowed out other than to go the bathroom or to respond to a technical problem that represents a safety issue. When we are out we have to put a jacket over the uniform. (didnt want to imply that everyone else had the same standards as the US or UA)
Obviously they had no AM's aboard...the squeezer would then have become the squeezee !!!

[Hugh Jarse]

Gidday Mike. I thought that Air Marshals were supposed to remain incognito, unless there is an attack on the flight deck. Nevertheless, they can "assist" in cabin incidents as an ABP (but must maintain their cover and not draw their weapon)?

[Mike Scott]

The theory is correct, reality is that they are "expected" to respond to any security incident on the aircraft that represents a threat to aircraft,crew, or passengers. They brief with us on board prior to pax boarding..some are on board early, others come aboard with pax...we have several on the 400, some flights more than others dpending on destination and related issues.
The weapons piece only comes into play in very specific circumstances..they do have other options available besides guns depending on circumstance.

Hopefully they are awake and cognisant when needed...not always the case in the past unfortunately. Thankfully we CAN rely on our ABP's who have very little tolerance for anyone behaving in a way that threatens their safety. The troublemaker in some past cases has left the aircraft in a body bag.

MS