A Virgin Australia passenger says she doesn’t remember assaulting crew members after taking allergy medication and drinking a bottle of wine during a transpacific flight last week.
An Australian woman learned on Thursday that she now has serious legal troubles to go along with a serious hangover. Amy Louise McHugh will face federal charges in connection with her allegedly drunk, disorderly and violent behavior on an October 18 Virgin Australia flight from Brisbane Airport (BNE) to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).
Federal prosecutors announced that the 32-year-old is facing charges that include interfering with a flight crew after she was arrested by FBI agents soon after her rather eventful flight touched down at LAX. According to charging documents obtained by The Daily Breeze, McHugh managed to sexually harass a seatmate, ransack the galley and repeatedly attack flight attendants before eventually being restrained.
Investigators say that the slowly escalating rampage started when a male passenger woke to find McHugh sitting on his lap and unzipping her clothing. When he questioned her actions, she allegedly told him “I’ll make it worth your while.”
At this point, cabin crew members simply relocated the frisky flyer to an unoccupied row of seats, but McHugh reportedly became upset when flight attendants would not allow her to roam about the cabin. At this point, the misbehaving passenger threw her headphones accrosss the cabin in frustration. Things escalated dramatically after a crew member later found her crying and rummaging through cabinets in the galley. When the cabin crew member attempted to escort the out-of-control passenger back to her seat, witnesses say things quickly turned violent.
After scratching then attempting to punch and bite flight attendants, McHugh was restrained with zip-ties. The agitated passenger’s feet were later bound as well, after she allegedly kicked and knocked a flight attendant to the floor.
McHugh told FBI agents that she had no recollection of the events that occurred during the flight, She told investigators that the last thing she remembered was taking a double dose of antihistamine and drinking four glasses of wine shortly after takeoff.