HOLIDAYMAKERS suffered a terrifying ordeal when a crazed passenger threatened to open the doors of a jumbo jet at 37,000 feet and jump out, a court heard yesterday.

Abusive David McCallum, 29, was on a packed flight to Tenerife when he had a violent argument with his cousin and needed to be moved away from other people on board.

Newcastle Crown Court was told how he then threatened to open the plane door - a potentially disastrous move that could have led to a crash.

McCallum was last night jailed for a year for the offence which happened in November 1999.

McCallum, 28, was rowdy from the moment he stepped on to the Britannia BY098 from Newcastle to Tenerife for a four-and-a-half hour flight.

The plane was packed with 235 passengers and six cabin crew, when McCallum boarded the 757 with his stepfather and cousin.

The court heard how abuse, lager, hair and punches flew as McCallum and his 20-year-old cousin, Rebecca, began brawling.

They used foul language from take-off and the row erupted into violence when she grabbed his hair and punched him in the face.

She also threw her lager at him, soaking fellow passengers, before receiving a punch in the face.

Prosecutor John Aitken told the court: "The three got on to the plane just before it took off. Even then passengers noticed their rowdiness and difficult behaviour, particularly between the defendant and his cousin.

"They were very noisy when they came on to the plane and some passengers hoped they would not sit near them.

"The arguing started straight away after the plane took off.

"A steward went to intervene, but before she could move Rebecca to another seat, she punched David McCallum in the face.

"He punched her back and she got hold of his hair then threw a drink over him. The lager was not restricted to him, though, it sprayed passengers sitting behind."

The court heard how McCallum was then moved to seats at the front of the plane.

It was then that he made his threat to open the doors of the packed aircraft.

The pilot decided to lock the door to the flight deck and considered diverting the flight to Lisbon to deal with the disruption.

McCallum was seen making comments into a tape recorder about perceived threats from other people on board, the court heard.

He also abused an elderly passenger who asked him to be quiet.

McCallum was greeted by Spanish authorities at Tenerife and advised he would be facing charges back home. He flew back to Britain with his stepfather a few days later, before the end of his holiday.

Many passengers, especially those who already had a fear of flying, have said they are afraid to fly again because of what happened.

McCallum, of Dixon Street, Leith, Edinburgh, pleaded guilty to one charge of affray at an earlier hearing.

Rebecca was to have faced a similar charge but it was not proceeded with after McCallum entered his guilty plea.

The court had earlier been told by John Aitken, prosecuting, that McCallum, his cousin and his step-father had ordered an £11 round of drinks shortly after their plane left Newcastle Airport.

The judge said: "You were loud, aggressive and foul-mouthed and all that before any provocation from your cousin occurred."

Eric Elliott, defending, told the court that David McCallum suffered anxiety attacks and was on medication.

But the judge said he should not have been drinking.

If McCallum had suffered a panic attack it still did not justify him swearing and using bad language.

The judge added: "Threatening to open the door of the aeroplane must have terrified all of the people who were there and caused a great deal of distress to a very large number of passengers.

"Many of the passengers spoke of their holidays being ruined fearing that their return journey would be with you, or indeed fearing going on any aeroplane journey.

"This kind of aggressive conduct will not be tolerated.