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Ontario man to be sentenced Monday in coffee pot swinging incident

Click to play video: 'Air Canada flight diverted after passenger allegedly threatens to open door'
Air Canada flight diverted after passenger allegedly threatens to open door
Wed, May 17: An Air Canada flight bound for Toronto had to be diverted after a passenger allegedly threatened to open the plane door mid-flight. Cindy Pom reports – May 17, 2017

An Ontario man who attempted to open the door of an Air Canada plane during a flight last May and threatened flight attendants with hot coffee will be sentenced Monday in a U.S. court.

Brandon Courneyea, who pleaded guilty to a count of interfering with a flight attendant earlier this summer, admitted he used cocaine before boarding the flight in Montego Bay, Jamaica.

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Once on board the flight headed for Pearson International Airport, court documents indicate Courneyea began behaving erratically and said he wanted to take the plane down while trying to open the cabin door.

Those documents also indicate he swung pots of hot coffee at members of the flight crew before being forcibly bound to his seat with zip ties, by the crew and passengers.

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Courneyea is looking at a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to US$250,000.

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