Photo: www.bqlive.co.uk
Here’s one that could run for the top prize in the worst idea category: one man was late for his flight so, when he wasn’t allowed to board the plane, he placed a fake bomb call.
In today’s international context, that’s probably the dumbest thing you can do, next to actually trying to put a bomb on a plane. It’s even dumber if you use the same phone number days later, to book another flight, which is what London-based French Jacob Meir Abdellak did, according to the BBC.
The incident happened in May, at the Gatwick Airport, and involved a plane headed to Los Angeles. However, it’s just now that Abdellak was sentenced to 10 months in jail, after changing his mind and entering a guilty plea on the charge of providing false information regarding a noxious substance on board the aircraft.
He had previously tried to talk his way out of trouble by saying, when he was arrested days later, that he couldn’t have made the hoax call because his SIM card had been stolen.
On the day in question, Abdellak arrived after boarding and became aggressive with staff when he was told there was no chance he could be on that flight. He had to see if he could reschedule or catch another flight to LA, and neither option appealed to him.
So he got on his phone and made the fake bomb threat, knowing this would mean all passengers would have to de-board and go through security screenings again. This effectively delayed takeoff for another 90 minutes, and Abdellak eventually made it on board.
Still, what he did was stupid, Gatwick Police Chief Inspector Marc Clothier says for the BBC.
“He was running late for his flight and thought it would be a good idea to call in a hoax bomb. This turned out to be the worst decision he could have made,” Clothier explains. “His actions caused a level of fear and distress among a number of staff and passengers on board that flight.”
The incident happened in May, at the Gatwick Airport, and involved a plane headed to Los Angeles. However, it’s just now that Abdellak was sentenced to 10 months in jail, after changing his mind and entering a guilty plea on the charge of providing false information regarding a noxious substance on board the aircraft.
He had previously tried to talk his way out of trouble by saying, when he was arrested days later, that he couldn’t have made the hoax call because his SIM card had been stolen.
On the day in question, Abdellak arrived after boarding and became aggressive with staff when he was told there was no chance he could be on that flight. He had to see if he could reschedule or catch another flight to LA, and neither option appealed to him.
So he got on his phone and made the fake bomb threat, knowing this would mean all passengers would have to de-board and go through security screenings again. This effectively delayed takeoff for another 90 minutes, and Abdellak eventually made it on board.
Still, what he did was stupid, Gatwick Police Chief Inspector Marc Clothier says for the BBC.
“He was running late for his flight and thought it would be a good idea to call in a hoax bomb. This turned out to be the worst decision he could have made,” Clothier explains. “His actions caused a level of fear and distress among a number of staff and passengers on board that flight.”
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