'Drunk' Irish woman, who went on expletive-laden rant at Air India crew, found dead in London home; Sussex Police rules out foul play

An Irish woman who created buzz on social media for casting racist slurs at an Air India staff after being denied alcohol during a Mumbai-London flight in November, was found dead at her East Sussex home on 1 June, after apparently committing suicide.

In April 2019, Simone Burns, an international human rights lawyer, was sentenced to six months in prison for her abusive rants and and ‘spitting’ at the flight attendant. She was described as “drunk and obnoxious” during her hearing.

Burns was found dead at the foot of Beachy Head in East Sussex, less than two weeks after being released from Bronzefield women’s prison, the Daily Mail reported.

‘The death is not being treated as suspicious and next of kin have been informed. The matter has been passed to the coroner’s officer," a spokesman for Sussex Police said.

The video of the incident that went viral showed Burns screaming at the cabin crew “Indian money-grabbing c***s” while incessantly demanding wine.

“I am a f***ing international lawyer. I work for all you f**king people… The f***ing Rohingyas, the f***ing people of all Asia, for you, an international criminal lawyer. Don’t get any money for it by the way. But you won’t give me a glass of wine, is that correct?” she screamed at the attendants after being refused more wine.

“As a thumb rule, a passenger can be served two to three pegs of hard liquor and another three to four glasses of wine. Passengers in business class can get a little more. But this passenger already had four quarter bottles of wine and was insisting on more. When denied, she started shouting and abusing the crew members,” an airline source was quoted by news agency PTI.

Burns also spat at a crew member before being given a series of warnings. She was later arrested in London’s Heathrow airport after the Air India flight landed. She had pleaded guilty to the charges against her at a London magistrates’ court.

The court, while hearing her appeal, had said: “You were drunk and obnoxious almost from the beginning to the end. You were abusive, contemptuous and confrontational and used appalling language.”

Judge Nicholas Wood had also ordered Burns to pay £300 as compensation.

The court, while hearing her appeal, had said: “The experience of a drunk and irrational person in the confines of an aircraft is frightening, not least on a long-haul flight, and poses a potential risk to safety.”

A friend of Burns said her world fell apart after her conviction and the time spent in jail, which made her prone to social media trolls, NDTV reported.