Drunk Women Fighting Blamed for Fighter Jet Escort to Canada

ByABC NEWS ABCNews logo
Thursday, August 28, 2014

Two women apparently under the influence of alcohol set off a smoke alarm and fought inside a Sunwing Airlines plane Wednesday, prompting a fighter jet escort to Canada, according to the airline.

The incident happened on board a flight that was en route to Manzanillo, Cuba.

According to the airline, the women drank "a significant quantity of their duty free alcohol purchase in the lavatory and lit a cigarette, triggering the smoke detector alarm."

The women then began fighting each other and made a threat against the aircraft, "which was considered non-credible given their condition," said Janine Chapman, a spokeswoman for the airline.

Two fighter jets escorted the plane back to Toronto, according to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), which serves Canada and the United States. The women were taken into custody after it landed in Toronto.

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