home

Wine, Pills, and Soap Make Air Passenger Disruptive

From time to time, TalkLeft calls your attention to interesting reports of odd crimes or blundering criminals. This story seemed unworthy of note until the lavatory hand soap made its appearance.

United Airlines diverted a flight bound to London after an incoherent and disruptive passenger, apparently woozy from a combination of pills, alcohol and lavatory hand soap, allegedly tried to bite a flight attendant in the leg.

Really, it would be hard to write a better lede than that one. The soap ingester in question is Galina Rusanova, "described by the British press as a Russian-born artist, actress and author who rubs elbows with the rich and famous." To cope with her fear of flying, Rusanova took four sleeping pills and drank two or three bottles of wine. Three hours into the flight from Los Angeles (where she was visiting a fellow she met on the internet), the story gets interesting: [more ...]

About three hours into the flight, a United flight attendant said she found Rusanova with her feet on her in-flight food tray, kicking the seat in front of her. Rusanova, who appeared to be very intoxicated according to a court filing, requested more wine and then fell asleep.

A short time later, the same United crew member was told by passengers that Rusanova was incoherent and bothering fellow travelers. As she approached, she saw Rusanova "drink a bottle of liquid soap that she had apparently removed from the bathroom," according to the court document.

The wines furnished by domestic airlines can be awfully mediocre, but even a novice wine drinker should be able to distinguish bad wine from hand soap. Rusanova is apparently no novice, given that one of the few things she remembers about the flight is her argument with a flight attendant over the quality of the wine.

As the beleaguered flight attendants tried to subdue the feisty artist/actress/author/soap addict, she punched, kicked, and pushed them.

At one point, she fell to the floor of the galley in the rear of the aircraft and began "snapping like a dog," trying to bite a flight attendant's leg, according to [court documents].

The extent to which drinking the hand soap contributed to Rusanova's intoxication, aggression, or dog snapping is unclear. Just to be safe, TalkLeft recommends that you avoid mixing sleeping pills, wine, and hand soap, even if you're afraid of flying.

< Tuesday Night TV and Open Thread | Jeff Sessions as Ranking Republican on Judiciary >
  • The Online Magazine with Liberal coverage of crime-related political and injustice news

  • Contribute To TalkLeft


  • Display: Sort:
    Ick (5.00 / 1) (#1)
    by andgarden on Tue May 05, 2009 at 10:06:47 PM EST


    it was probably (5.00 / 1) (#2)
    by cpinva on Tue May 05, 2009 at 10:09:45 PM EST
    cheap hand soap.

    i am amazed she was still conscious, much less able to actually move, after 4 sleeping pills and several bottles of wine. must be that well known russian capacity for alcohol.

    Yes, Delta hand soap (5.00 / 2) (#14)
    by ruffian on Wed May 06, 2009 at 09:31:18 AM EST
    has a  much better bouquet!

    Parent
    Probably hand sanitizer, not soap (none / 0) (#21)
    by RonK Seattle on Wed May 06, 2009 at 07:22:25 PM EST
    Purell, fr'instance, is 124 proof.

    Parent
    And here I was feeling guilty for watching (5.00 / 1) (#3)
    by Anne on Tue May 05, 2009 at 10:15:55 PM EST
    the finale of The Real Housewives of New York...who knew even worse drama was playing out in the friendly skies...?

    Please tell me she was foaming at the mouth (5.00 / 1) (#4)
    by nycstray on Tue May 05, 2009 at 10:16:10 PM EST
    while on all fours and snapping like a dog . . . .

    I'm actually surprised she wasn't throwing up all over after the soap!

    If I needed a reminder of the perils (5.00 / 3) (#12)
    by ruffian on Wed May 06, 2009 at 09:30:14 AM EST
    of internet dating..there it is. Just my luck, I would go to the airport to pick up Mr. Perfect Internet Guy and get told he was crouched in the back of the airplane snapping at the flight attendent.

    Lavender or Rose Water? :) n/t (none / 0) (#5)
    by dutchfox on Wed May 06, 2009 at 01:54:30 AM EST


    My kids no longer (none / 0) (#6)
    by Fabian on Wed May 06, 2009 at 04:23:39 AM EST
    put strange things in their mouth.  Now they whine about the flavor of their dental rinse.  But even in their worst dead-bug-eating days, they never tried liquid soap.

    What combination of drugs and alcohol reduces your judgment to below that of a two year old?

    I'm more curious as to whether (none / 0) (#7)
    by CoralGables on Wed May 06, 2009 at 07:06:51 AM EST
    there will be a second date.  I suspect the object of this weekend fling living overseas is to the benefit of all concerned (other than maybe future United passengers should they come out for round two). Perhaps a change of phone number for the LA connection of the Internet dalliance would be most beneficial to all.

    Silly lady... (none / 0) (#8)
    by kdog on Wed May 06, 2009 at 08:53:54 AM EST
    everybody knows desperate alcoholics turn to mouthwash for a desperation drink...not soap.

    I'm amazed more people don't snap on planes between being packed like sardines and all the hassles associated with flying.

     

    I thought it was... (none / 0) (#9)
    by MileHi Hawkeye on Wed May 06, 2009 at 08:58:59 AM EST
    ...cough syrup that is the desperation drink of choice?  Kids and their crazy fads these days...

    I have to wonder if it was soap or that anti-bacterial hand sanitizer.  Isn't that stuff pretty much pure alcohol?

    Parent

    Cough Syrup... (none / 0) (#10)
    by kdog on Wed May 06, 2009 at 09:14:58 AM EST
    is preffered, but it ain't cheap, may as well buy a sixer:)

    Hand sanitizer makes more sense...good theory Mile.

    Parent

    I prefer mine... (none / 0) (#13)
    by MileHi Hawkeye on Wed May 06, 2009 at 09:31:04 AM EST
    ...the old fashioned way--chock full o' codeine.  Mmmm, tasty!

    Parent
    You would think (none / 0) (#11)
    by Zorba on Wed May 06, 2009 at 09:21:22 AM EST
    that ingesting all that soap would have made her throw up.

    2 or 3 bottles of wine? (none / 0) (#15)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Wed May 06, 2009 at 09:41:06 AM EST
    Has to be 2 or 3 of those mini airline bottles of wine.

    Hand soap? I thought it said 'can soup' (none / 0) (#18)
    by steviez314 on Wed May 06, 2009 at 11:52:58 AM EST


    Keep the wine (none / 0) (#19)
    by lentinel on Wed May 06, 2009 at 02:17:49 PM EST
    Just give a carafe of soap, an olive and a twist of lemon.

    Hey! (none / 0) (#20)
    by jbindc on Wed May 06, 2009 at 04:56:43 PM EST
    This is called "a regular Tuesday night" in some circles!

    I had friends in college that used to get drunk on Robitussin (blech).

    Friends don't let friends (none / 0) (#23)
    by TChris on Thu May 07, 2009 at 03:44:36 PM EST
    drink Robitussin.  (This message courtesy of Mothers Against Robitussin Drinking.)

    Parent
    Yuck! (none / 0) (#22)
    by catmandu on Thu May 07, 2009 at 07:12:01 AM EST
    I've been known to booze it up on a flight--especially with free booze.  But soap???  Probably improved her breath.  Did the flight attendant have her distemper shot?????