A British man put a flight from Norway in danger after setting fire to a pornographic magazine under his seat, a court was told on Tuesday.
David Mason used a cigarette lighter to ignite torn-out pages from the magazine, which he had bought himself, saying later he had been ”offended” by them, the Lewes Crown Court in south-east England was told.
Mason admitted on Tuesday to endangering the Boeing 737 passengers, operated by Norwegian national airline Braathens, by acting in a reckless manner on February 12.
Prosecutor Roger Booth said stewardesses on the flight from Bergen, Norway, to London first became suspicious when Mason asked if he could burn some paper in the plane’s galley oven.
They refused and sent him back to his seat. Soon afterwards, two passengers reported a smell of burning and crew members found Mason had started a small fire under his seat, which was extinguished with water.
Booth said that Mason, who was receiving treatment for mental illness, had ”been offended” by some of the pictures in a magazine, one of several he had bought.
”He said that on the plane he had become overcome, and felt the desire to destroy them there and then,” the prosecutor said.
Mason will be sentenced next month. — Sapa-AFP