Wow, here’s someone you never want to sit with.

This airline passenger drank so much alcohol, he had to be restrained with zip ties and taped to his seat like Hannibal Lecter.

According to eyewitness accounts and Iceland’s Morgunblaðið newspaper (Note: the story is all in Icelandic, so enjoy), the wretchedness happened on an Icelandair flight bound for JFK. This fella drank “an entire bottle” of duty free alcohol, then went gonzo on his fellow travellers. He groped, choked, and repeatly spat on crew and other passengers. He also yelled that the plane would crash.

You might think ‘Hang on, let’s not be so quick to judge. Maybe he saw something the trained pilots didn’t. Maybe he saw a man on the wing who was trying to destroy the plane. In these cases, we all know that spitting is the best way to get people’s attention.’

Here’s an excerpt from the Morgunblaðið story translated into English:
“ The man began ólætin when the two hours were left on the flight. The description passengers socially Reddit says that he dumps in itself a whole bottle of spirits as he was down and the subsequent crazy.”First off, I presume ólætin means goon-faced ruckus. Secondly, “the subsequent crazy” is my new favourite way to describe all my bad behaviour. And thirdly, didn’t this man’s parents teach him anything about restraint?The crew and passengers know something about restraints. Sick of this clown’s antics, they zip tied his knees, taped his mouth shut and ankles together, and bound his torso to the seat for the rest of the flight. When the plane landed in New York, police arrested the mummified man.The man’s nationality is unknown. He could be Canadian, Icelandic, Zimbabwean, who knows. He was so hammered, I doubt he remembers his name.

You may be wondering “Wait a second…what if he vomited while his mouth was taped shut? Wouldn’t that be awkward for the airline (legally) and kind of bad for the guy health-wise?”

A Gawker reader, OortCloud, thinks so. He/she wrote, “I am tape that he can breathe lungs air afraid. Can worry me? Is air in him mouth in coming out, should he get tape remove him mouth, suffocate his mouth death? Him get air in that instance? Look worry.”

All excellent points, OortCloud.

If you were on that plane, what would you do? What’s the drunkest you’ve seen (or been) and how did people handle it?

— Ken Hegan

P.S. Here’s a video of the guy after he was restrained

Bing: When and how to restain unruly air passengers

Read more of Ken’s MSN travel stories here  

Follow Ken on Twitter: @KenHegan

Passenger image: Gawker

Icelandair airplane wing: AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster