(Maybe it was the alcohol. Or, maybe it was something in the alcohol. If the intelligence community hasn't developed a drug that can do the following, they will.)

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Thursday 6 April 2000

'Mile High' couple are fined #2,250 By Paul Stokes

TWO strangers who shocked passengers with a drunken sexual encounter on a transatlantic plane were fined a total of #2,250 yesterday.

Amanda Holt, 37, and David Machin, 40, both married, admitted being drunk on an American Airlines flight from Dallas to Manchester last October. Both have lost well-paid jobs.

It ended when they were arrested on touchdown in Manchester after three fellow passengers and aircrew complained of their persistent lewd behaviour. At Manchester Crown Court yesterday both admitted being drunk on the aircraft. She was fined #1,000 with #400 costs and he was fined #1,250 with #700 costs.

The pair had exchanged pleasantries as Holt, bespectacled and smartly dressed, settled into seat 9a and Machin, a married father of three, shuffled into his allotted seat alongside her on the American Airlines Boeing 767.

They started chatting as the plane cruised at 30,000ft, had a glass of wine with lunch and became more familiar as the journey went on and more drink was consumed. Between them, they were said to have shared two full bottles of wine and "large quantities" of cognac and port.

Holt, 37, a #90,000-a-year telecommunications executive, was seen at various stages of undress by people sitting nearby as the two began to take greater interest in one another. The other passengers noticed them kissing and touching one another as her blouse became awry and her vest appeared pulled down with her bra straps to the side.

They were also seen indulging in heavy petting beneath a blanket and she was seen with her "eyes rolling". At the height of their passion Jeanette Wrenall, an elderly disabled passenger, was struck on the head by a stray foot as she heard miaowing and childlike noises behind her.

Mrs Wrenall turned around and told Holt to behave and get dressed, at which point Machin pulled a blanket over her, but was told that was not satisfactory. Holt and Machin, a greetings card company's logistics manager, were also seen groping inside each others' pants by a woman seated opposite to them.

When she was called, Juanitta White, a stewardess, noticed Holt was not wearing any trousers and most of her chest was exposed and told them to stop, but each time the cabin crew left the pair continued where they had left off. As the aircraft prepared for landing, a crew member told the pair they would be met by the authorities at Manchester. Holt asked "Are you sure?" before tutting dismissively at what she had been told.

When police boarded the aircraft they noticed her eyes were glazed, she was unsteady, still in a state of undress and reeked of alcohol. Holt denied that she was ever undressed but later sent a letter to the airline to apologise for her behaviour. She wrote: "I am not sure as to whether I'll lose my marriage and job as a result, but my actions were totally out of character. I have no recollection of events whatsoever, but I realise this was no excuse."

In interviews with police Machin dismissed the incident by saying they had become "a little over-familiar, but that's all". It was claimed in court that both of them had already suffered because of publicity surrounding the case. Holt, of Bacup, Lancashire, lost her job with Nortel Networks, of Canada. She is out of work but still married to her husband Steve Holt, a car salesman.

Machin, of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, also lost his job with the American greetings company Hallmark and his marriage to his wife Judith had been affected. Judge Harold Singer told the courttheir conduct proved offensive to three passengers. Had it not been for them ignoring requests to stop what they were doing , the case would probably have never got to court.

He said that the case should not attract a sentence of imprisonment and it was clear both marriages had been put under strain because of all the publicity the case had attracted. He said: "This case does not involve either a threat to the plane or the passengers or crew nor does it involve violence or threats of violence."

Philip Curran, prosecuting, said the only passengers near Holt and Machin were the disabled Mrs Wrenall and Brian and Margaret Carter, who were sitting across the aisle. Peter Birkett, QC, of Holt, said she had been in America on business and because of long meetings had had no food before drinking on the flight and she still could not understand how she became so drunk so quickly.

He said she had already been publicly humiliated by press coverage and her behaviour had been totally out of character. James Sturman, for Machin, said he had lost his #15,000 guaranteed bonus and had taken another job with a #10,000 salary cut having resigned before being dismissed.

-- HighFlyer (flyer@high.alt), April 06, 2000

Answers

How come flights I'm on only have crying babies and drunken soccer fans? :^)

-- Jim Cooke (JJCooke@yahoo.com), April 06, 2000.

"Holt, of Bacup, Lancashire, lost her job with Nortel Networks, of Canada. She is out of work but still married to her husband Steve Holt, a car salesman. "

AHA HAHAHA! Another man out there who JUST LOVES THE WOMAN'S MOVEMENT.

I bet her a$$ is back in the kitchen for a while. either that or her new found lover has been invited over to their trailor for a threesome.

and that would be sick.

-- @ (@@@.com), April 06, 2000.

Ooops...there's a couple who didn't make it in the Mile High Club.

-- Chris (!@#$@pond.com), April 06, 2000.

Jim:

You haven't lived: I once had a flight from Dallas to Calgary with a load of drunken cowboys going to the stampede. Don't talk about crying babies :o). Have you ever been on flight where you were roped?

Best wishes,,,,

Z

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), April 06, 2000.

This is all due to that shampoo ad on T.V. where the woman washes her hair in the airplane's bathroom and oos and ahs until everyone else on the plane wants what SHE had. Or is it due to that movie Harry and Sally? where Sally feigns an orgasm at a diner and the other patrons request that they'll have what SHE's having.

I've never had exciting trips on airplanes, but I did have an exciting bus ride from London to Wales wherein some Scots were sneaking drinks and getting more obnoxious as the trip moved along. My son was sitting next to one of them, and the other two guys were sitting behind that one. The girls and I sat across the aisle.

The "stewardess"? on the bus tried to confiscate their alcohol, and this made them MORE belligerent. Eventually, the bus stopped and security officers came aboard and removed these three. My kids STILL talk about those guys. I'll have to ask my son if he still has the portion of the lucky pound note that one of those blokes exchanged for his lucky quarter.

-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), April 06, 2000.

Ah, drunken Scots. Brings back memories of a London Tube ride some 20 years ago (summer 1977). Scotland had beaten England in a "friendly" at Wembley Park and the Scottish fans were of course over the moon about it. A very happy (read "drunk as Lords") group of them boarded at Wembley Park station and proceeded to wander through the train, singing and showing everyone their souvenirs of the match: handfulls of Wembley turf! I heard later that it took weeks for Wembley Stadium to recover.

-- DeeEmBee (macbeth1@pacbell.net), April 06, 2000.

Oh gawd Anita, how I deteste that commerical! =o)

-- cin (cinlooo@aol.corn), April 06, 2000.