Modest Martin plays down role in mid-flight drama

A SOUTHSIDE man who was caught up in a terrifying mid-flight drama has insisted that he is no hero.

Martin O’Neill (40), from Sallynoggin, was forced to intervene after a fellow passenger on a Dublin-bound Ryanair plane lost control and started throwing punches.

Martin, who was returning from a trip to Paphos on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, was forced to wrestle the man to the ground and, with the help of other passengers, held him there while the flight made an unscheduled stop in Frankfurt, Germany.

As a former nightclub bouncer, Martin had the skills to tackle the situation but he insisted that subsequent claims that he had acted as a hero do not sit comfortably with him.

“I was just doing what I was trained to do,” he said, “and I knew I could do it.”

The drama started when the man, who is believed to be from Eastern Europe, had a psychotic episode, believing that people were trying to kill him.

“At first, I thought that a child was kicking my seat but then it really kicked off,” recalled Martin.

“These two guys were wrestling in their seats behind me but I waited for few minutes to ascertain what was going on before I got involved.

“Because I had worked in security I could tell this wasn’t anything to do with drugs or drink but that it was some sort of psychotic episode this man was having.

“I waited until it was really starting to get out of control and then I jumped up and helped subdue the man to the ground.

“For a few moments he would relax but then he’d try to jump back up again, terrifying the other passengers, and some of them were passing their children over the seats away from him.”

Another passenger on the same flight was quoted as saying: “He started running up and down the plane and talking about how everyone was going to die – it was absolute craziness to be honest.

“Then he became quite aggressive and was attacking another passenger. I don’t know if this other person was accompanying him or not, but they were speaking the same language and sitting near each other.”

Martin added that eventually, with the aid of other passengers, he managed to restrain the man with two seat belts.

“Then we got the notification that the plane was being diverted to Frankfurt so it was still another 25 or 30 minutes,” Martin added.

When the plane landed at Frankfurt it was immediately boarded by airport police but Martin told them to take it easy on the man.

“Before that he had been shouting that we were actors and others were trying to kill him but after we landed it was like he was a totally different person.

“He couldn’t even remember what happened so I told them to take it easy on him.”

After the incident Martin’s exploits were hailed in some newspapers as the actions of a hero but Martin played down his role in the drama.

“It’s not like I landed the plane or anything,” he laughed.

“It weighs a bit uncomfortably with me to be honest. I was just doing what I knew I had to do.”