Drunk Russian ice hockey star causes emergency landing

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Russian ice hockey star Oleg Saprykin allegedly knocked down an air stewardess who refused to top up his whisky during a domestic flight, which led to the plane making an emergency landing, according to local reports.

The incident took place on Aurora Airlines, on a flight from Sochi to Moscow. The Mirror said that Saprykin was already drunk when he got on the plane. When the stewardess refused his request for more whisky, Saprykin jumped out of his seat in the business class section and started to yell at the attendant before striking her.

The young woman fell on the floor and was badly bruised, according to a local report.

Oleg Saprykin (l) of the Ottawa Senators mixes it up with Ryan Carter (R) of the Anaheim Ducks during the first period of Game Four of the 2007 Stanley Cup finals. /VCG Photo

A video said to be from the Russian Interior Ministry showed that Saprykin was screaming at the flight crew in his underwear inside a detention cell where he threw broken furniture through the bars.

During the incident, the pilot decided to make an emergency landing in Voronezh, Russia. According to RT's source, the plane continued its way to Moscow when Saprykin was detained by local police. The air stewardess did not press charges against Saprykin who thus only paid a small fine before flying back to Moscow with his wife and children on another flight.

37-year-old Saprykin currently plays for the Salavat Yulaev Ufa of Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He used to play for eight seasons in National Hockey League (NHL) respectively for the Calgary Flames, the Phoenix Coyotes and the Ottawa Senators. Saprykin was also playing for Russia when his country won the title at the 2009 IIHF World Championship.