London-bound plane returns to Philadelphia airport after passenger 'gropes flight attendant'

A drunk man forced a London-bound plane to turn back to Philadelphia after he became unruly and attempted to grope two female passengers and a flight attendant.

According to nj.com, US Airways flight 728 was already delayed by half an hour when it took off on Tuesday night, then, an hour in to the flight, passengers were told they would be returning to the airport.

The flight got as far as Massachusetts before it had to turn back, and then had to circle for a while to burn fuel.

Robert Jon Coppack, 40, from California, had been moved towards the back of the plane after two women he was sitting with complained about his behaviour.

He was reportedly also aggressive and verbally abusive, and was detained on board by an air marshal, before later being charged with intimidating the crew.

One passenger, Kevin Wiessman, uploaded a picture on Twitter of the moment Coppack was removed from the plane, writing: "Unruly passenger gets taken away."

According to the Daily Mail, airline spokeswoman Michelle Mohr said the plane landed at Heathrow around four hours late.

Coppack, who had been travelling on a British passport, will appear in court on Monday.

Some passengers took to Twitter to vent their frustration, with one user, Ashley James, writing: "Left #philadelphia at 10pm for London... Moron decides to be a nuisance..... 1am land back in Philly! #fml."

Speaking to NBC Philadelphia, Coppack's mother said her son left California on Tuesday to live in London.

"Obviously my husband and I are shocked and disappointed that Robert would do this.

"We feel terrible for the other passengers affected by his actions."

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