Kaleb Forscutt: Northern Territory man fined $3k for threatening Rex pilot and disorderly behaviour on flight

A Northern Territory man who disrupted a Rex flight when the flight attendant would not let him use the bathroom during takeoff and landing, and threatened the aircraft’s pilot, has been fined. Kaleb Forscutt, 42, appeared in Albany Magistrates Court on Tuesday, where he pleaded guilty to disorderly behaviour in public and making a threat to unlawfully do an act. Police prosecutor Sgt Meagan Diver told the court both charges related to an incident on a Rex flight from Perth to Albany on March 5. She said Forscutt had been intoxicated when he boarded the plane and caused problems for the 19-year-old flight attendant. Forscutt verbally abused the young staff member when she told him he could not use the bathroom until the seatbelt sign was switched off and it was safe to do so. Once in the on-board bathroom, he continued yelling through the door, and refused to come out of the bathroom and take his seat for landing. Sgt Diver said this meant the plane had to taxi in the air and delay its landing while the pilot waited for all patrons on the fully booked flight to be seated. Once landed, the pilot and co-pilot spoke to Forscutt on the tarmac, asking about the incident on board and whether he was OK. Forscutt then threatened the pilot, telling him he should “watch (his) back” and stepping towards him threateningly before saying he was going to “smash (his) head in”. As the pilot and co-pilot let him go, Forscutt spat on the concrete floor and passage walls leading into the arrival terminal, and punched the glass door to the arrivals terminal hard enough that ground staff had to check for cracks. He continued his disruptive behaviour inside the terminal, which was full of passengers disembarking and collecting their luggage, and passengers waiting for the next flight back to Perth. Sgt Diver reiterated the “considerable disruption” caused by Forscutt’s actions, including the cancellation of the flight back to Perth, which left passengers stranded in Albany for the night and resulted in the airline having to rebook customers onto flights in the following days. Defence lawyer Eva Svanberg said Forscutt did not remember the bulk of the incident due to his heavy intoxication, but was embarrassed and remorseful for his actions. Magistrate Nicholas Lemmon reminded Forscutt of the seriousness of his actions, and the impact they would have had on an array of other people including airline staff and other passengers on the flight. He handed him a fine of $3300.