Update!

Campbell Cops to Flight Fight, Avoids Jail

Trouble-prone catwalker sentenced to community service after copping to assaulting two police officers during April airplane ruckus

By Josh Grossberg Jun 20, 2008 5:19 PMTags
Naomi CampbellSimon James/WireImage.com

Thanks to Naomi Campbell, British Airways doesn't actually need to be airborne to encounter major turbulence.

The trouble-prone catwalker pleaded guilty today to assaulting two police officers after causing a stink aboard a BA flight at London's Heathrow Airport in April.

But she managed to avoid the maximum six-month jail term. Instead she was sentenced to 200 hours of community service for the air-rage ruckus, fined $4,600 and ordered to pay $400 to each of the police officers she attacked and $300 to the captain of the flight.

Sporting shades and a dark suit and flanked by a guardian, the 38-year-old Campbell arrived at Uxbridge Magistrates Court in a chauffeur-driven Mercedes and pushed her way through hordes of paparazzi and press without addressing their questions.

According to the Crown Prosecution Service, when she finally made it inside, she copped to four charges—two counts of assaulting a constable, one each of disorderly conduct likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress and of using threatening, abusive words or behavior to cabin crew. Two additional counts of assault and using threatening words were dismissed.

The meltdown happened April 3, after the British supermodel boarded a plane bound for Los Angeles and became upset with crew members when one of her bags apparently went missing. The incident coincided with the opening of British Airways' new terminal at Heathrow, which resulted in major problems with the baggage system.

After excoriating airport police who were attempting to restore order—and even spitting on one officer—Campbell was escorted off the aircraft and taken into custody. She was released on bail eight hours later.

Outside the court, Campbell's rep, Alan Edwards, told reporters the tempestuous model acknowledged her role in the row.

"She feels what happened was regrettable and she has come to court today to put her side of the story," he said.

While British Airways refused to comment directly on Campbell's case, the carrier is said to have formally banned her from traveling on future flights.

Campbell is no stranger to anger-management issues.

Last year, she was ordered to mop floors with New York's Department of Sanitation as part of her five days' community service for whacking her then-assistant with a BlackBerry, the latest in several documented smackdowns with her apparently beleaguerered staff.

(Originally published June 20, 2008 at 5:32 a.m. PT.)