London - A drunken passenger tried to open the door of a packed holiday jet in mid-air, screaming "you are all going to die".
Chloe Haines, 26, attacked a female cabin crew member who intervened during the Jet2 flight to Turkey.
Two RAF Typhoon fighter jets were scrambled to escort the Airbus 321 back to Stansted, where Haines was arrested by Essex Police.
On Monday she admitted endangering an aircraft and assaulting cabin attendant Charley Coombe, who suffered scratches in the incident.
Chelmsford Crown Court heard that the incident happened 17 days after she had been sentenced to a community order as a result of another drunken incident and had also been banned from driving for 28 months.
Haines wiped away tears in the dock and fiddled with a delicate gold chain around her neck as she was warned she could face jail.
She has already been sent a bill for £85 000 (about R1.5-million) by Jet2, to cover the cost of the disruption, and banned for life from its flights
The court heard how Haines, of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, stood up 25 minutes into the flight to Dalman in June and threatened cabin crew. As the situation escalated, she tried to open the emergency door, screaming: "I’m going to f****** kill everyone, you are all going to f****** die".
Haines, a Costa Express worker, was dragged to the floor by attendants and other passengers as the flight turned back to the UK. The sonic boom caused by the RAF Typhoons sent to intercept the jet was heard over a wide area.
Haines denied a charge of drunkenness on an aircraft even though her defence barrister, Oliver Saxby, said there was "no question that she was drunk".
He said that the charge of endangering the safety of an aircraft was the "more serious alternative". Saxby told the court: "On any analysis, she’s a troubled young person with a number of serious issues."
Haines was sentenced to a community order three weeks before the air rage incident for similar offences that occurred on the ground involving alcohol and a "loss of control", he said.
Saxby said that the order "had not had a chance to bite", but credited Haines for attending Alcoholics Anonymous sessions.
He asked for a pre-sentence report from the probation service, which Judge Charles Gratwicke agreed to.
Judge Gratwicke adjourned sentencing until next month, adding: "This court needs to know far more about you.
"It was a serious offence and, indeed, all sentencing options remain open."
The judge ordered that, as part of her bail conditions, Haines must not to travel from a UK airport.