A GERMAN citizen who allegedly caused a ruckus on an Air Namibia flight on Monday night will hear in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court today whether he has been found guilty on criminal charges laid against him by the airline.
Uwe Bartsch (45) of Eisenach, Germany, was charged with causing a nuisance, disorderly behaviour, and being intoxicated on board an Air Namibia flight that flew from Frankfurt to Windhoek between Monday evening and Tuesday morning. On the plane, Bartsch twice broke free from the restraining straps.Eventually, with the help of 10 male passengers, the air crew managed to hold him down once more – this time they tied him up with four pairs of stockings belonging to female crew members.Bartsch is accused of violating the Civil Aviation Offences Act.Throughout the case, Bartsch has not denied the charges or evidence against him.He has said he could not remember his alleged acts.His only defence – that he took anti-anxiety medication together with alcohol that he brought on board himself – is an offence in itself.The State called two witnesses yesterday – Air Namibia cabin attendant Marissa Jonach (25) and senior cabin controller Annamarie Gertze (38).Jonach testified that, shortly after take-off, she witnessed an argument between Bartsch and a fellow passenger.When she confronted them, she saw that the accused appeared intoxicated.”I asked if I could see what’s in the bottle, but he wasn’t co-operating,” she told the court.She managed to smell the contents of the plastic bottle, she said, and judged it to be Coca-Cola mixed with alcohol.Bartsch, when he took the stand, admitted that the bottle contained vodka and Coke, and said that he drank it along with pills he had received from a nurse friend in Germany, as he has a fear of flying.After the stewardess confronted him about the alcohol, he allegedly cornered her against the trolley she had been pushing, and refused to sit down until she asked another passenger to press a call button to summon her superior.Bartsch then gave her the bottle, she said, and returned to his seat but remained quiet only for a while.During the rest of the flight, Jonach said she had to warn Bartsch on a number of occasions about his “loud and disruptive behaviour” towards fellow passengers, until she later had to call Gertze, the senior cabin controller.Gertze testified that she also tried to calm down Bartsch, but had to call the captain when he repeatedly resumed harassing other passengers.After a number of warnings from staff, Gertze said that they initiated the airline’s “disruptive passenger policy”.They brought Bartsch a yellow form stating that he understood that he had been in contravention of the rules on board the flight, and that steps could be taken against him should he continue.The form was read to him in German, and after agreeing that he understood its content, Gertze said he returned to his seat quietly.”Since he obliged,” Gertze said, “we didn’t have to restrain him.I just told the crew to keep an eye on him.”By this time, Bartsch had been moved to the back row so staff could keep an eye on him, both witnesses testified.However, before long, Jonach said in her testimony, Bartsch crawled out of his seat and started harassing other passengers again.The crew then decided to restrain the disruptive passenger with restraining straps, which he broke free from twice.Eventually, with the help of 10 other male passengers, they managed to hold him down once more and tied him up with four pairs of stockings belonging to female crew members.”We asked some of the male passengers to help us, and really the response was overwhelming,” Jonach said.They tied him to a crew seat in the kitchen area, the witnesses said, which is where he remained for the rest of the flight.Testifying in his own defence, Bartsch recalled only up to the point where he took the anti-anxiety pills and then fast-forwarded to being escorted off the plane and made to sign a statement for the Police at the airport.”I remember a black lady seated next to me with two kids.We had a little chat,” Bartsch said through an interpreter.”And in front of me was a man who I also chatted with.I was sitting in the wrong seat and he directed me to the correct seat,” he continued.”The next thing I remember was waking up, tied up, with a man on each side of me, and a wall in front of me.I must have been in the kitchen.”I asked what was wrong.I remember one could speak German; he said I had misbehaved and that’s why they tied me up.””I saw two policemen coming to me.I asked about my next flight and they said no, maybe the next one,” he said.Bartsch was then taken to the Police cells at Hosea Kutako airport.”I’m sorry about the whole thing,” he told the court.”I can’t remember.If I could do it better, I would.”The last thing the court heard from the prosecutor before adjourning yesterday was that under Namibian law, a suspect claiming to be unaware of his actions cannot automatically not be held liable for his actions.On the plane, Bartsch twice broke free from the restraining straps.Eventually, with the help of 10 male passengers, the air crew managed to hold him down once more – this time they tied him up with four pairs of stockings belonging to female crew members. Bartsch is accused of violating the Civil Aviation Offences Act.Throughout the case, Bartsch has not denied the charges or evidence against him.He has said he could not remember his alleged acts.His only defence – that he took anti-anxiety medication together with alcohol that he brought on board himself – is an offence in itself.The State called two witnesses yesterday – Air Namibia cabin attendant Marissa Jonach (25) and senior cabin controller Annamarie Gertze (38).Jonach testified that, shortly after take-off, she witnessed an argument between Bartsch and a fellow passenger.When she confronted them, she saw that the accused appeared intoxicated.”I asked if I could see what’s in the bottle, but he wasn’t co-operating,” she told the court.She managed to smell the contents of the plastic bottle, she said, and judged it to be Coca-Cola mixed with alcohol.Bartsch, when he took the stand, admitted that the bottle contained vodka and Coke, and said that he drank it along with pills he had received from a nurse friend in Germany, as he has a fear of flying.After the stewardess confronted him about the alcohol, he allegedly cornered her against the trolley she had been pushing, and refused to sit down until she asked another passenger to press a call button to summon her superior.Bartsch then gave her the bottle, she said, and returned to his seat but remained quiet only for a while.During the rest of the flight, Jonach said she had to warn Bartsch on a number of occasions about his “loud and disruptive behaviour” towards fellow passengers, until she later had to call Gertze, the senior cabin controller.Gertze testified that she also tried to calm down Bartsch, but had to call the captain when he repeatedly resumed harassing other passengers.After a number of warnings from staff, Gertze said that they initiated the airline’s “disruptive passenger policy”.They brought Bartsch a yellow form stating that he understood that he had been in contravention of the rules on board the flight, and that steps could be taken against him should he continue.The form was read to him in German, and after agreeing that he understood its content, Gertze said he returned to his seat quietly.”Since he obliged,” Gertze said, “we didn’t have to restrain him.I just told the crew to keep an eye on him.”By this time, Bartsch had been moved to the back row so staff could keep an eye on him, both witnesses testified.However, before long, Jonach said in her testimony, Bartsch crawled out of his seat and started harassing other passengers again.The crew then decided to restrain the disruptive passenger with restraining straps, which he broke free from twice.Eventually, with the help of 10 other male passengers, they managed to hold him down once more and tied him up with four pairs of stockings belonging to female crew members.”We asked some of the male passengers to help us, and really the response was overwhelming,” Jonach said.They tied him to a crew seat in the kitchen area, the witnesses said, which is where he remained for the rest of the flight.Testifying in his own defence, Bartsch recalled only up to the point where he took the anti-anxiety pills and then fast-forwarded to being escorted off the plane and made to sign a statement for the Police at the airport.”I remember a black lady seated next to me with two kids.We had a little chat,” Bartsch said through an interpreter.”And in front of me was a man who I also chatted with.I was sitting in the wrong seat and he directed me to the correct seat,” he continued.”The next thing I remember was waking up, tied up, with a man on each side of me, and a wall in front of me.I must have been in the kitchen.”I asked what was wrong.I remember one could speak German; he said I had misbehaved and that’s why they tied me up.””I saw two policemen coming to me.I asked about my next flight and they said no, maybe the next one,” he said.Bartsch was then taken to the Police cells at Hosea Kutako airport.”I’m sorry about the whole thing,” he told the court.”I can’t remember.If I could do it better, I would.”The last thing the court heard from the prosecutor before adjourning yesterday was that under Namibian law, a suspect claiming to be unaware of his actions cannot automatically not be held liable for his actions.
