Two of the passengers who were drinking with Dublin-born Colin McCusker on an Etihad flight from Sydney to Abu Dhabi were arrested for their drunken antics and sent to a desert prison in the United Arab Emirates for six weeks.

The pair of prominent Australian businessmen faced 15 years in the prison and lashings after they were charged with intoxication, indecent exposure and sexual harassment on the 26 April flight.

They were eventually deported to Australia with suspended sentences in the wake of the fracas in the plush Aus$9,500-a-head 'Diamond Zone' first class area of the Etihad plane.

McCusker told the Sunday Tribune that the two top mining executives . . .

David Evans and Jeremy Snaith . . . who were forced to live on "fermented camel meat in cells with hardened criminals and murderers, " in the desert jail . . . have asked him to write a book about their ordeal.

Born in Drumcondra in 1942, McCusker lives between his home in Ballaghaderreen, Co Roscommon and a farm in Gulgong, Australia. He worked in over 65 countries as a seafarer before he became a cattle farmer in Australia in 1987.

Recently retired, he has now turned his attention to life as an author and he has just published his first book, Dublin's Dirty Doris, which is a fictional tale about Drumcondra in the 1950s.

McCusker describes himself as someone who "likes alcohol, good chat and the odd book, " in the preface to the novel, which he is currently promoting.

It was his fondness for alcohol that saw him embroiled in the recent air rage incident.

"I had a great win on the horses so I decided to treat myself to a first class seat on a flight from Sydney to Abu Dhabi on my way home to Ireland to promote the book, " said McCusker.

"Some of the passengers were complaining about the champagne being hot but I had not drunk champagne in over 20 years so I didn't know any different and I had three glasses before the plane even took off."

The Sydney Morning Herald has reported that the only thing all of the passengers on the plane are agreed on is that the champagne was warm, the entertainment system on the plane was faulty and the seats would not adjust.

A motley crew that included two mining executives, a judge, a Canadian businessman, a union leader and his wife, and McCusker were in first class on the plane when all hell broke loose in the skies.

A few hours into the flight, McCusker wandered into the lounge at the front of first class where he met Evans, Snaith and retired seaman Bill Sergent, and started drinking with them.

There have been conflicting reports over what exactly happened after that but McCusker's account certainly varies with others.

Other disgusted passengers have told Australian media that the group of men "grew boisterous, " "began baiting the hostesses, " and "one of the men took off his trousers."

Speaking to the Sunday Tribune, McCusker said, "All this business of baring bums has been exaggerated. I didn't see any arrogance towards the hostesses on the plane.

"I was shocked when the three men were arrested in Abu Dhabi and thankfully they were released.

"Snaith and Evans have kept in email contact with me and Snaith has asked me to write a book about the whole ordeal so I am looking into that as another project after I finish promotingDublin's Dirty Doris."

Interestingly, the book's subtitle reads: "Always tell a lie when the truth doesn't fit." Surely McCusker has not lied about the antics on the plane.