Boy, 8, hailed a 'hero' after intervention on plane

A dad has described his eight-year-old son as "a real hero" after he helped calm down an angry passenger on their flight and saved it from being diverted.

James, from Salford, said he and his son Phoenix were travelling home from a holiday in Turkey when a female passenger started to cause trouble by shouting and swearing.

Flight staff then said they would have to divert the plane away from Manchester Airport if she failed to calm down, so James and his son sat next to her and kept her talking for three-and-a-half hours.

James said his son was the "calming influence" as he started asking the woman about her children, what their hobbies were, and which school they went to.

James was on holiday in the Turkish city of Izmir with his wife, son, and grandson, but due to a family emergency they needed to fly home early.

James said: "This woman had a bottle of whiskey confiscated, and then she started swearing, flinging her hands everywhere and demanding more drinks.

He recalls the moment a stewardess said told the woman that if she continued using "foul language", the flight would be diverted.

But then the woman swore again.

"Just as the stewardess was gong to the front I begged her for 30 seconds of time with the lady," James said.

At this point, James and his son welcomed the woman to come and sit between them, and they started asking her about her life as a distraction.

"Phoenix got his football cards out and started asking her if she had any kids his age, what they did, whether they played football," James said.

The woman did eventually calm down, and when the flight landed in Manchester police were waiting to arrest her.

As passengers got off the flight, plenty of them tapped James on the shoulder to say thank you, but all he could think about how helpful his son had been.

"I thought, 'wow, he is eight years old and could've easily sat there and not said anything'.

"But the way he dealt with it and assisted me, I thought he was the calming influence.

"He was the real hero, not me."

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