NewzCORNER BROOK — A man and woman in Newfoundland have each been fined $4,000 for endangering the safety of an airline flight by refusing to remain in their seats, yelling at passengers and crew and removing some of their clothing. A court in Corner Brook, N.L., heard that on Aug. 28, 2024, Corey Pancer and Deborah Bojman were aboard a Flair Airlines flight headed to Deer Lake, N.L., when Pancer got out of his seat and refused to follow instructions from the crew.
29, provincial court Judge Wayne Gorman said the 56-year-old man was yelling obscenities as he returned to his seat, but refused to attach his seatbelt and then took off his shirt. Pancer also became loud and threatening during meal service when an item he wanted to buy was unavailable. As for Bojman, the judge’s decision says she also refused to stay in her seat and, at one point, removed all her clothing below her waist and then walked up and down the aisle while yelling at people.
Pancer pleaded guilty to endangering the safety of an aircraft in flight and interfering with the lawful use of property, and Bojman pleaded guilty to the same charges before another judge and was also fined $4,000 at an earlier date. Gorman said he was compelled by the parity principles in the Criminal Code to to impose the same sentence on Pancer. Still, Gorman’s ruling says the result was a sentence that “fails to reflect the seriousness of the crimes committed” by the accused.
Pancer purposely disrupted the flight and diverted the airline staff from their primary function: the safety of the passengers,” the judge’s decision says. The sentences imposed for this type of offence have not reflected this reality.” The judge went on to say that were it not for the Crown’s request for the same sentence, he would have imposed a period of imprisonment. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct.
— By Michael MacDonald in Halifax The Canadian Press
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