Flight suicide woman spared jail
28.05.09
A suicidal woman who tried to open an aircraft door at 32,000 ft on a flight from Paris to Edinburgh Airport earlier this year has been sentenced to 18 months probation. Ann Gilmour, 47, from Glasgow had pleaded guilty to recklessly and negligently endangering an Air France flight in January. She wad expected to be jailed for the incident, but received a lesser sentence after Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard it would have been ‘physically impossible’ for her to open the aircraft door at 32,000 ft. She will now appeal her conviction at the Court of Appeal.
Sheriff Isabella McColl sentenced Miss Gilmuor for a breach of the peace after hearing passengers were not in danger. She said: ‘I have obtained two opinions from experts at the Civil Aviation Authority and both agree that the design of the aircraft door is such that it would have been impossible for her to have physically opened the door.’
The court heard that Miss Gilmour was pulled away after cabin crew saw her trying to turn the handle on the front exit door of the plane 90 minutes after it left Charles de Gaulle airport on January 7. Miss Gilmour, who has a history of mental illness, said she wanted to jump out of the plane and kill herself. She was restrained and arrested on arrival at Edinburgh Airport and has been in custody ever since.
The court had originally been told her actions could have had ‘catastrophic’ results, with the door being blown away causing a sudden drop in pressure and temperature inside the cabin. Her defence counsel Ronnie Renucci said: ‘It is unfortunate that this case has proceeded on a false premise. It is quite clear no-one in that aircraft was in danger as a result of Miss Gilmour's actions.'
Sheriff McColl also ordered Miss Gilmour to take mental health support as part of her probation.
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