Irish Soccer Coach Faces 20 Years In Prison For Assaulting Crew Member And Mooning Passengers On Delta Flight

An Irish soccer coach faces a lengthy prison sentence for causing mayhem on a Delta Air Lines flight from Dublin to New York City earlier this month.

In an unsealed complaint on Friday, Shane McInerney, 29, is accused of “repeatedly refusing to wear a facemask despite being asked dozens of times” on the Jan. 7 flight. He became belligerent, threw a soda can at a fellow passenger, and mooned a crew member and first-class passengers. 

His behavior was so bad the pilot, identified in the complaining as Individual-4, came out of the cockpit to speak with him. “During the conversation, the defendant twice took off his cap, placed the cap on Individual-4’s head, and removed it from Individual-4’s head,” the filing reads. McInerney then put his fist in the pilot’s face and said, “Don’t touch me.”

At one point, things got so bad that the flight crew considered diverting the flight to another airport. Another passenger described McInerney’s actions as “scary.” The FBI was alerted to the disturbance, and McInerney was taken into custody at JFK when the aircraft landed. 

McInerney was arraigned in Brooklyn federal court on Jan. 14 and charged with interference with flight crew members. He was released on a $20,000 bond. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison. 

“Delta has zero-tolerance for unruly behavior at our airports and aboard our aircraft, as nothing is more important than the safety of our people and our customers,” a Delta spokesperson said in a statement to The Daily Beast. 

Citing a law enforcement source, the Daily Mail reports that McInerney was flying to the United States for a job in Daytona, Florida. A Galway native, he previously played professional soccer for Australia and Sweden. Most recently, he was the kicker for Peru State College’s American football team.