Man who died on Jet2 flight ‘headbutted a passenger’ earlier than being ‘restrained’

A woman has described the terrifying scenes onboard a Jet2 flight to Manchester Airport before a man died after allegedly headbutting a passenger and being restrained by fellow travellers

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A woman has recounted the horrifying scenes on a Jet2 flight to Manchester Airport before a man died after allegedly ‘headbutting a passenger and being restrained’.

The woman said her mother, who was also on the flight from Larnaca in Cyprus, believed the man involved ‘was going to kill someone’. She described how children were crying as the ‘aggressive’ man hit overhead lockers and pounded on the cockpit door of the plane.

The ‘disruptive’ passenger has since been identified as Callum Kerr. Callum, from Warrington, boarded the Jet2 plane from Larnaca in Cyprus with his girlfriend on June 21. Witnesses, including the passenger who spoke to the Manchester Evening News and wishes to remain unnamed, said Callum seemed to be heavily intoxicated and was ‘shouting and swearing’.

Police reported they were called to an alleged assault on the flight, reports the Manchester Evening News. Officers entered the plane after it touched down at Manchester Airport in the early hours of June 22 and found other passengers had restrained Callum. Videos and photos shared online captured the moment police entered the aircraft before officers discovered he wasn’t breathing.

They immediately started performing CPR and subsequently requested a defibrillator, before Callum was rushed to hospital after becoming ‘critically ill’. He has now passed away, family members informed the M.E.N.

The woman who witnessed the incident described the terrifying moments leading up to the attack. She said: “We set off from Larnaca then about an hour into the flight, I think we were just going past Turkey. We could hear him [now believed to be Callum] sort of being abusive. Someone ended up telling the air hostess but made it discreet.

“We had a bit of turbulence so the seatbelt sign came on. The air hostess’ asked his girlfriend if she was alright, that’s when he started becoming really aggressive and swearing. That’s when it all got 10 times worse. He started getting up and getting beers from the trolleys, he had a Jack Daniels that he’d bought from duty free and he was drinking that as well.

“He was getting up and walking around and hitting the overhead cabins. He kept shouting and swearing at everyone saying that he’ll batter anyone on this plane. He told people to search his name. Everyone was trying not to look at him to keep him calm. We’re nervous flyers anyway so this just made it 10 times worse.”

The woman then revealed how cabin crew attempted to separate the man and his girlfriend by moving her to the rear of the aircraft. But he was then yelling and demanding to know where she was.

“He sat down in his seat. Then the pilot decided to announce ‘you know who you are, you need to behave and sit down you will be getting prosecuted when we land’, but that just made it worse”, she told the M.E.N. “The guy was shouting again then and he went to the front of the plane and banging on the door of the cockpit. He then spat at a male steward.

“So then he ended up sitting down again and we were about 10/15 minutes from landing. He then randomly got up and went to the back of the plane, I don’t know if something was said or if he locked eyes with someone and he just headbutted this guy out of nowhere.

“So then everyone jumped up and people were running up to the front of the plane running away from him. One of the stewards grabbed hold of him to try and stop him and he was being restrained on the ground.

“The air hostess’ asked for a couple of men to help them. I think about three people restrained him but as soon as he headbutted this guy, he went silent. He had been shouting for the full four hours so it was a weird silence. We landed and the police came on the plane.

“They obviously realised he wasn’t breathing and one of them ran off and came back with a defibrillator and medical bags. The plane just went silent and then everyone’s mood dropped it was sad to see. They kept us on the plane for maybe an hour and a half. Then we gave statements.

“Me and my mum don’t ever want to fly again. Kids were all screaming, I think at one point someone did turn around to him and tell him there were kids on the flight and can he stop but he said he didn’t care. My mum was so scared she thought he was literally going to kill someone. She was a mess on that flight.”

Heartfelt tributes have poured in for Callum on social media after his death. “Can’t believe I’m writing this RIP Callum Kerr wtf,” one person wrote, as another posted: “God bless mate we’ll catch up again.

“I thought I was dreaming when I seen someone write it last night.. goodnight godbless cal,” penned another, as a fourth person commented: “Gunna miss that cheeky grin of his.”

Greater Manchester Police has made a mandatory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) due to police coming into contact with the man prior to his death, not due to any indication of misconduct by the officers involved.

Chief Superintendent Mike Allen said: “Firstly my thoughts are with Callum’s family and all those impacted by this incident. An investigation is now underway to establish what happened during the flight and our specialist officers have been keeping them updated with all the information we know so far.

“I know there were many people on the flight who witnessed the violence and disruption prior to officers’ arrival. We know passengers and aircrew worked to detain the man to bring the incident to an end. Our detectives are investigating this to understand the full circumstances.

“It is mandatory for a referral to be made to the IOPC. We will fully assist with their investigation into the actions of the police, where our officers have been independently declared as witnesses rather than being investigated for their conduct. Policing is a challenging profession, and we are supporting them through this process. Support continues to be provided to the man’s family and loved ones during this time.”

A spokesperson for Jet2 previously said: “We can confirm that flight LS966 from Larnaca to Manchester requested a priority landing on (Monday 22nd June), due to a disruptive passenger incident.

“We can confirm that a passenger has been taken to hospital. As an investigation is underway, it would be inappropriate for us to make any further comment at this time.”

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