Man's Hair Set On Fire on Plane

Planes are diverted for several reasons. Sometimes planes have mechanical problems. Sometimes there is a matter of suspicious activity on board. Sometimes there is a case of bad weather at an airport. Sometimes it's because a man sets another man's hair on fire.

You read that right. A 24-year-old Colin Jones was pulled off a Monarch flight headed from Manchester, England to the island of Majorca for a bachelor party. It seems like he decided to get the antics started early by lighting his friend's hair on fire at 30,000 ft. as a prank.

The cabin crew on Flight ZB532 smelled smoke about 90 minutes into the flight while crossing over France. They alerted the captain who decided to turn the plane around and land at Gatwick airport in London. Sussex police were called and entered the plane after it touched down.

A spokesman for Sussex Police told The Telegraph, "The aircraft was diverted to Gatwick and landed shortly after 9am when smoke was detected on board. The smoke came from a passenger whose hair had been singed by another passenger that he was travelling with."

Jones was removed from the aircraft and taken into custody for questioning. According to HuffPost UK, Jones was charged with "reckless negligent behavior likely to endanger and aircraft and other people in the aircraft." He has been released on bail.

Passengers on board the 212 person Airbus A321plane said that the incident was just a badly timed prank. None of the passengers were injured.

A spokesman for Monarch responded to the incident saying, "Monarch confirms that flight ZB532, flying from Manchester to Majorca on Thursday May 31, diverted into London Gatwick where one passenger was off-loaded from the aircraft due to an incident onboard. Monarch has a zero tolerance approach to disruptive passengers on board."

Monarch prohibits lighters and matches from baggage. There was no word on how Jones lit his friend's hair on fire.

This was the first incident of its kind, but several other flights have been diverted for various silly reasons. In May 2011, fighter jets were called to escort a United flight in an emergency landing because two passengers got in a fight over a reclining seat.