Cho Hyun-ah (C), also known as Heather Cho, daughter of chairman of Korean Air Lines, Cho Yang-ho, leaves for a detention facility after a court ordered her to be detained, at the Seoul Western District Prosecutor?s office December 30, 2014. South Korean
Cho Hyun-ah (C), also known as Heather Cho, daughter of chairman of Korean Air Lines, Cho Yang-ho, leaves for a detention facility after a court ordered her to be detained, at the Seoul Western District Prosecutor?s office December 30, 2014. South Korean prosecutors requested on Wednesday a detention warrant for a former Korean Air Lines executive who delayed a flight because she was unhappy about how she was served nuts in first class. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji (SOUTH KOREA - Tags: TRANSPORT CRIME LAW BUSINESS)

The ferocious character of former Korean Air Vice President Heather Cho came out not only during the infamous macadamia nut air rage incident but also during her trial on Friday.

Kim Do Hee, the cabin stewardess who had the misfortune of serving the nuts in a plastic bag instead of a plate as expected by Cho, told the court that she knelt and apologised for the mistake.

Cho, who wasn’t angry yet then, ordered Kim to bring a service manual. She gave the tablet which contains the manual to Park Chang-jin, the chief steward. Later, Kim heard loud voices and returned to first class to find Park already kneeling.

She also knelt, however, Kim said the daughter of the air carrier’s chairman pushed her, threw the tablet which hit her on the chest and called her a “bi**h,” reports CNN.

To further worsen matters, Kim said Korean Air pressured her not to tell the truth about the incident, which caused Cho to order the plane, which was preparing to take off from New York to Seoul, to return so the chief steward could leave the plane. This delayed both the departure and arrival of the plane on Dec 5 and possibly violated air safety regulations.

Cho Yang-ho, the father of the former VP, said sorry not only to the flight attendants, but also to the public for the arrogant behaviour of his daughter who resigned from the company after the embarrassing incident.

“No matter what, mistreating the flight attendant is not correct … I scolded her for not being able to control her emotions,” CNN quotes the chairman.

Kim said that a Korean Air manager dictated to her what to tell investigators from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, particularly not to divulge the yelling and the physical abuse from Cho who never apologised to her over the incident.

Park’s description of Cho, as quoted by Reuters, is that she is “a beast that found its prey gritting its teeth as she became abusive.”

To contact the writer, email: v.hernandez@ibtimes.com.au