09.08.08
A man who told an air stewardess that he had a gun on a plane at Edinburgh Airport as a ‘joke’ was sentenced to 80 hours' community service yesterday.
Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard how Vytauas Gulbinavicius told the stewardess that he had a gun on a flight to Sharm el Sheik in Egypt. When she was carrying out final checks before take-off on April 30 the stewardess noticed a strap around Mr Gulbinavicius's left leg. Thinking it was a piece of hand luggage she asked him to place it under his seat. He replied that it was a gun holster as a 'joke' (it was a sun visor strap).
The 25-year-old mechanic, of Sinclair Road, Aberdeen but originally from Lithuania, told the stewardess it was a joke, but the she told the captain, who contacted the police and took the Flyglobespan Boeing 737 back to the terminal. The other 130 passengers eventually took off 6 hours late.
Elspeth McDougall, defending, said Mr Gulbinavicius's conduct had been ‘ill-advised and idiotic’. She said he had been drinking and was in ‘good spirits,' but that neither the crew nor passengers, which included members of his family and friends, had taken him seriously.
She said: ‘He has already paid a very heavy price for his actions. While his family and friends were enjoying their first night on holiday, he spent the night in police cells, lost the money he paid for his holiday and has been banned from Flyglobespan flights for life.’
He was sentenced to 80 hours' community service after earlier admitting a breach of the peace.
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