Korean Air Executive Jailed for Losing Temper at a Steward Over Nuts

Cho Hyun-ah, a former Korean Air executive who lost her temper over how a steward presented her with macadamia nuts has been sentenced to prison.

A former executive of South Korea's national airline has been imprisoned for one year for hindering aviation safety during a row over nuts.

Heather Cho Hyun-ah forced a plane to return to the gate in New York last December after she got angry at a steward because she did not like the way she had been served nuts. The nuts were served in a bag and not in a bowl.

She ordered the flight to abandon preparations for take-off and return to the terminal so that the chief steward could be removed.

Prosecutors had asked for a sentence of three years in prison on charges of breaking aviation law, assault and interfering in an investigation.

The Judge Oh Sung-woo said it was a case where "human dignity" had been "trampled upon".

Cho Hyun-ah has apologized and quit Korean Air, which is run by her father.