Rock star Peter Buck, guitarist of the band REM, was yesterday cleared of charges of involvement in a drunken mid-air rampage on board a flight from Seattle to London last year.
Buck (45), had been accused of assaulting staff and causing criminal damage during hours of allegedly "loutish behaviour" on the first-class cabin of the BA plane.
He blamed a pre-takeoff sleeping pill for transforming him into a mindless "automaton" and turning most of the 10-hour flight into a mental blank.
Yesterday the jury in London cleared him on every count.
Buck, a millionaire father of two described by his wife, fellow celebrities and other friends as the "politest, gentlest" person around, sighed and wiped his brow as the jury returned after more than five hours.
The guitarist had denied charges of being drunk on board the plane, common assault on an air stewardess and the cabin services director, and damaging BA property.
The court was told earlier he had drunk about 15 glasses of wine during the flight in April last year. He claimed he had a bad reaction after taking a sleeping tablet and downing only six small glasses of red wine.
Buck said he had no recollection of allegedly attacking staff, splattering them with yoghurt or trying to leave the plane at 35,000ft "to go home". He also did not recall allegedly upending a trolley after failing to play a CD on it or swearing at the captain.
During the trial, U2's Bono told the jury he had never seen Buck drunk and that the REM musician steered clear of drugs and was a peaceful man with a strong sense of family values. His childhood friend and REM lead singer Michael Stipe was also in court.
Asked by reporters afterwards if he would be flying home with BA, Buck replied "Yes." The airline said that, despite the verdicts, it would accept him on board future flights, although it would continue to treat allegations of assault on its staff very seriously. - (AFP)