'Disruptive' passenger restrained on Jet2 flight dies

A man who was restrained on a Jet2 flight by fellow travellers after he allegedly assaulted another passenger and cabin crew, has died.

Police were called to reports of a passenger attacking another customer and a staff member on the Jet2 flight from Cyprus to Manchester and being "disruptive and aggressive" in the early hours of Monday.

On landing at Manchester Airport, officers used handcuffs to detain Callum Kerr, 35, of Warrington, but quickly found he was "unresponsive" and performed CPR on him before taking him to hospital, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said.

Kerr, a bare-knuckle fighter, died on Tuesday. An investigation into his death is under way.

Paying tribute, Kerr's loved ones said: "Callum was a family man, father to three beautiful young children, a lover of sport and with a heart of gold."

GMP said it had made a mandatory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) due to police coming into contact with Kerr prior to his death.

The force said officers were called shortly before 02:30 BST on Monday to reports of a man behaving aggressively towards passengers and crew on an inbound flight travelling from Larnaca to Manchester, and an assault of a passenger and a member of cabin crew.

Officers boarded the aircraft on its arrival and located Kerr, who was being restrained by passengers and aircrew at the rear of the plane.

GMP added: "Officers used handcuffs to detain him and quickly identified he was unresponsive, through the provision of first aid, and began with CPR."

Kerr was taken to hospital where he died the next day.

Ch Supt Mike Allen said: "An investigation is now under way to establish what happened during the flight and our specialist officers have been keeping them updated with all the information we know so far.

"I know there were many people on the flight who witnessed the violence and disruption prior to officers' arrival.

"We know passengers and aircrew worked to detain the man to bring the incident to an end.

"Our detectives are investigating this to understand the full circumstances."

"Support continues to be provided to the man's family and loved ones during this time," he added.

The IOPC said officers were being treated as witnesses, "rather than being investigated for their conduct".

It said its investigation would look at the actions and decision-making of the five officers who had boarded the plane, to understand the events surrounding the man's death.

The watchdog said it had begun gathering and reviewing evidence, including video footage from body worn cameras and initial statements from the officers.

Amanda Rowe from the IOPC said the investigaton would "focus on the actions of police, while a separate GMP investigation is considering the actions of the members of the public involved".

"We have been in contact with Mr Kerr's family to make them aware of our role and will keep them, and GMP, updated as our investigation progresses," she added.

The BBC has contacted Jet2 for a comment.

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