Plane makes emergency landing after drunken brawl

LONDON - A Britain-bound plane with 468 people on board was forced to make an emergency landing in Canada after a drunken passenger allegedly had a bust-up with his wife and father-in-law, a media report said Tuesday.

The pilot of the Virgin Atlantic jet had to divert to Canada after cabin crew said a male passenger was being “disruptive” and had been drinking and arguing with relatives, the Daily Mail reported.

The Boeing 747-400 flight, carrying 451 passengers and 17 crew, from Orlando city in the US state of Florida to Manchester, Britain, landed in Gander town, Newfoundland.

The 44-year-old troubling British man, Roy Anthony Heaps, was arrested by the Canadian police, the report said.

He was produced in a court charged with assault, uttering threats, mischief and interfering with an air crew, Canadian authorities said.

Heaps, who was remanded in custody, was due to appear before the court in Gander again Tuesday.

According to the daily, his relatives continued with their journey and the plane eventually arrived in Manchester after a delay of almost three hours.

A Virgin Atlantic spokeswoman confirmed the incident had taken place, but said they could not discuss it further because a police investigation was underway.

“Virgin Atlantic can confirm that the flight from Orlando to Manchester diverted to Gander, Canada, owing to a passenger behaving in a disruptive manner on board,” she said.