-Caveat Lector- <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">
</A> -Cui Bono?-
(Maybe it was the alcohol. Or, maybe it was something in the alcohol. If
the intelligence community hasn't developed a drug that can do the
following, they will.)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk
ISSUE 1777
Thursday 6 April 2000
'Mile High' couple are fined £2,250
By Paul Stokes
TWO strangers who shocked passengers with a drunken sexual encounter on a
transatlantic plane were fined a total of £2,250 yesterday.
Amanda Holt, 37, and David Machin, 40, both married, admitted being drunk
on an American Airlines flight from Dallas to Manchester last October. Both
have lost well-paid jobs.
It ended when they were arrested on touchdown in Manchester after three
fellow passengers and aircrew complained of their persistent lewd
behaviour. At Manchester Crown Court yesterday both admitted being drunk on
the aircraft. She was fined £1,000 with £400 costs and he was fined £1,250
with £700 costs.
The pair had exchanged pleasantries as Holt, bespectacled and smartly
dressed, settled into seat 9a and Machin, a married father of three,
shuffled into his allotted seat alongside her on the American Airlines
Boeing 767.
They started chatting as the plane cruised at 30,000ft, had a glass of wine
with lunch and became more familiar as the journey went on and more drink
was consumed. Between them, they were said to have shared two full bottles
of wine and "large quantities" of cognac and port.
Holt, 37, a £90,000-a-year telecommunications executive, was seen at
various stages of undress by people sitting nearby as the two began to take
greater interest in one another. The other passengers noticed them kissing
and touching one another as her blouse became awry and her vest appeared
pulled down with her bra straps to the side.
They were also seen indulging in heavy petting beneath a blanket and she
was seen with her "eyes rolling". At the height of their passion Jeanette
Wrenall, an elderly disabled passenger, was struck on the head by a stray
foot as she heard miaowing and childlike noises behind her.
Mrs Wrenall turned around and told Holt to behave and get dressed, at which
point Machin pulled a blanket over her, but was told that was not
satisfactory. Holt and Machin, a greetings card company's logistics
manager, were also seen groping inside each others' pants by a woman seated
opposite to them.
When she was called, Juanitta White, a stewardess, noticed Holt was not
wearing any trousers and most of her chest was exposed and told them to
stop, but each time the cabin crew left the pair continued where they had
left off. As the aircraft prepared for landing, a crew member told the pair
they would be met by the authorities at Manchester. Holt asked "Are you
sure?" before tutting dismissively at what she had been told.
When police boarded the aircraft they noticed her eyes were glazed, she was
unsteady, still in a state of undress and reeked of alcohol. Holt denied
that she was ever undressed but later sent a letter to the airline to
apologise for her behaviour. She wrote: "I am not sure as to whether I'll
lose my marriage and job as a result, but my actions were totally out of
character. I have no recollection of events whatsoever, but I realise this
was no excuse."
In interviews with police Machin dismissed the incident by saying they had
become "a little over-familiar, but that's all". It was claimed in court
that both of them had already suffered because of publicity surrounding the
case. Holt, of Bacup, Lancashire, lost her job with Nortel Networks, of
Canada. She is out of work but still married to her husband Steve Holt, a
car salesman.
Machin, of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, also lost his job with the American
greetings company Hallmark and his marriage to his wife Judith had been
affected. Judge Harold Singer told the courttheir conduct proved offensive
to three passengers. Had it not been for them ignoring requests to stop
what they were doing , the case would probably have never got to court.
He said that the case should not attract a sentence of imprisonment and it
was clear both marriages had been put under strain because of all the
publicity the case had attracted. He said: "This case does not involve
either a threat to the plane or the passengers or crew nor does it involve
violence or threats of violence."
Philip Curran, prosecuting, said the only passengers near Holt and Machin
were the disabled Mrs Wrenall and Brian and Margaret Carter, who were
sitting across the aisle. Peter Birkett, QC, of Holt, said she had been in
America on business and because of long meetings had had no food before
drinking on the flight and she still could not understand how she became so
drunk so quickly.
He said she had already been publicly humiliated by press coverage and her
behaviour had been totally out of character. James Sturman, for Machin,
said he had lost his £15,000 guaranteed bonus and had taken another job
with a £10,000 salary cut having resigned before being dismissed.
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