SAA crew member held down and sedated
By Natasha Prince
A cabin crew member on board a South African Airways (SAA) flight from Lagos is in police custody after he had to be restrained and sedated for an abusive and threatening outburst towards colleagues on board the plane at the weekend.
The crew member allegedly verbally abused fellow crew members shortly after flight SA061 from Lagos, Nigeria, to Johannesburg took off on Saturday morning.
SAA spokesperson Robyn Chalmers said the crew member was restrained and sedated by a medical doctor on board "to ensure passenger safety and comfort".
She said the flight landed safely in Johannesburg at 6.05am.
"The crew member was taken to a medical centre on arrival at OR Tambo International airport, and is now in police custody. SAA has laid charges under the Civil Aviation Offences Act," she said.
Chalmers said they did not have his medical history.
(This article was originally published on page 5 of The Cape Argus on September 03, 2007)