A 34-year-old man, whose drunken behaviour on an airplane forced it to divert to Dublin and dump thousands of euro worth of fuel, has been given a suspended sentence and ordered to pay €10,000.
Zachery Greear, who lives in New York City, said he had mixed prescription drugs and alcohol because he was a nervous flyer.
However, after the flight from Amsterdam to New York took off at 9.15am last Sunday morning, Greear inappropriately touched other passengers and urinated in the aisle.
The plane was flying from Amsterdam to New York but had to dump €30,000 worth of fuel and land in Dublin where gardaí arrested Greear.
The climate research analyst apologised and pleaded guilty to intoxication, threatening, abusive or insulting behaviour, and causing annoyance on board an aircraft.
Judge Michele Finan imposed a two-month suspended sentence and ordered him to pay €5,000 to United Airlines after he donated another €5,000 to charity.
