A South African Woman Diverts An International Flight

"Nomantangwa Johansson, from Sandton Johannesburg, has pleaded guilty to mischief and endangering an aircraft under the Aeronautics Act in a Dartmouth Court on Thursday.

Johansson was arrested after she caused a temporary flight diversion of Air Canada Flight 869 from London to Toronto on 17 December 2014.

CBC reports she has been fined nearly CAN$6 000 and ordered to reimburse Air Canada for the CAN$9,400 cost of diverting the plane – (US$12 000 / R137 000 at R11.42/$)

According to a report, Johansson was upset because she couldn't sit with her husband on the flight and her TV did not work.

In a statement of facts heard by the court, Johansson was being rude to flight attendants before the plane even left London, calling them "stupid and useless”.

When another attendant tried to sort the situation out, Johansson reportedly “doused her with water and threw the empty water bottle”. It was only later, when she “grabbed an attendant by the arm, pushed her and called her a bitch” that the flight was diverted to Halifax.

Johannson was originally charged with three counts of assault on an aircraft, one count of assault with a weapon, one count of causing a disturbance and one count of endangering an aircraft under the Aeronautics Act. The charges of assault were later dropped.

Johannson's lawyer says she now wants to recover her passport “right away so she can return to South Africa”

-News24