Drunk man nibbled on British Airway’s flight attendant’s ear and slapped wife’s face on flight

A married businessman who attacked his wife, kissed a flight attendant and nibbled his ear during a ten-hour flight has been jailed.

Philip Gould had drunk vodka and wine on the British Airways flight from Nassau in the Bahamas to London Heathrow on June 25 last year.

The 64-year-old was returning home with his wife Jurkea from a luxury holiday in Grand Cayman when he attacked her and then abused cabin crew.

When the businessman was refused more drink, he told a male flight attendant: ‘I could take you to the toilet and give you the best blowy of your life.’

Gould repeatedly called cabin crew ‘c*nts’ before he lunged towards the cockpit door and began angrily shouting at the captain.

He told crew members he did ‘secret work for the government’ and threatened to kill them, before calling his wife a c*** and slapping her in the face.

He eventually passed out and was arrested when the plane finally touched down.

Following his arrest he told police in interview he was ‘engaging in playful banter with the crew.’

Gould earlier admitted sexual assault, acting in a manner likely to endanger an aircraft and being drunk in an aircraft.

As his wife looked on from the public gallery, Judge Hannah Duncan told Gould: ‘Even at the start of the flight people started to notice you being loud and obnoxious.

‘You told the pilot you could fly the plane and you wanted your wife to be let into the cockpit.

‘You said you did secret work for the government. You behaved in a way that was truly upsetting and frightening to other customers.

‘You called your wife a c***, told her to f*** off and slapped her in the face.’

The judge said he then pushed a crew member over causing him to fall on passengers and seat dividers.

‘Anyone on that plane is unlikely to ever forget it. I suspect they will be nervous about getting on planes in the future.

‘Your conduct cannot be excused as playful banter. Those who get drunk on aircraft must expect prison sentences.’

She said the other passengers were effectively ‘trapped in a tube in the sky and have nowhere to escape.’

Jailed for 14 months

Gould was jailed for 14 months for acting in a manner likely to endanger an aircraft with lesser concurrent sentences for the other offences.

Ashleigh Ettienne, prosecuting, said: ‘After three hours into the flight, the defendant appeared to be drunk and cabin crew was made aware.

‘Ten minutes later he approached the cockpit and started banging on the door and was seen shouting at cabin crew, the captain and passengers.

‘Cabin crew deemed his actions a serious safety issue so they positioned themselves between the flight deck door and the defendant.

‘The defendant pushed a cabin crew member in his chest with his arm which caused him to stumble back and bump into a passenger.’

BA staff alerted the pilot and told Gould to calm down, which only aggravated him more.

Gould then screamed at cabin crew: ‘I’ll kill you. There are not enough people on the plane to restrain me’ before he slapped his wife and grabbed her by the hair.

When a panicked air hostess tried to intervene, Gould shouted at her: ‘Why are you talking to my wife you are a sl*g. You’re pretty’.

‘He then stood up and put his arms around her and while doing so, he kissed a male flight attendant on the right cheek, followed by nibbling on his ear,’ Ms Ettienne added.

The prosecutor said: ‘The defendant’s escalating behaviour was frightening and he became a serious safety issue.’

Gould earlier claimed the combination of wine and vodka ‘had sent him over the edge’ while Mrs Gould blamed his behaviour on a ‘fall out’ with friends during the holiday.

Manny Arora, defending, earlier said Gould suffers from PTSD and was ‘remorseful’.

‘He accepts he consumed some vodka. But when he entered the aircraft, he was not intoxicated.’

Gould, of Woking, Surrey, was wearing blue jeans and a puffer jacket in court today.

He earlier admitted being drunk in an aircraft, sexual assault on a male, two counts of assault by beating and recklessly acting in a manner likely to endanger an aircraft.

Gould is formerly director of a business management consultancy firm called Blacklight Management, which he ran with his wife, according to Companies House documents.

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