Inebriated passenger throws prosthetic leg at airplane crew

If the cabin crew decides to kick a passenger off a plane, that's the end of the story, and that flyer doesn't really have a leg to stand on. That's especially true when the passenger throws their prosthetic leg at the cabin crew.

Bizarre as it sounds, that's exactly what happened on a Thomson Airways flight from Tunisia to Edinburgh around 10pm on Wednesday, when an inebriated passenger reportedly unscrewed her fake leg and chucked it at flight attendants. The 48-year-old had allegedly requested cigarettes and a parachute (apparently, she wanted to fling herself off the plane), and became aggressive when her demands were denied.

Because who smokes while in free fall?

John Smith (yes, that's really his name), a fellow passenger on Thomson flight 297, told The Scotsman the woman "slapped a young girl and then assaulted the cabin crew with her prosthetic leg. They took it off her but she started kicking them with her good leg".

The crew was able to handcuff the passenger until the flight, which couldn't complete the last leg of its journey, made an emergency landing at Gatwick Airport in London, delaying the journey three hours past its scheduled landing of 11:30pm.

On arriving in London, the woman was met by police and promptly arrested "on suspicion of using threatening behavior", according to a statement issued by Sussex Police.

Meanwhile, passengers began to chant the Hokey Cokey (or Hokey Pokey, as it's called in the States). If you don't know the song, some of the lyrics go: "You put your left leg in, your left leg out, in, out, in, out, you shake it all about"...

“It sounds funny, but it was not a laughing matter at the time", Smith said. "She was totally drunk. It was shocking".

A spokesperson for Thomson publicly apologized for the incident. "We would like to apologize to passengers", he said. "Thomson Airways operates a zero tolerance policy with regards to any disruptive behavior on board and incidents of this type are extremely rare".

No official word has come on the passenger's punishment or potential bail -- we can only assume it'll cost her an arm and... yes, a leg.