An Air France pilot has been arrested at JFK after he joked to security that he had a bomb in his shoe.
The flight,AF009 JFK to Paris was held overnight until a new pilot was flown in from Paris.
The passengers,350 of them,had to be accommodated in local hotels until a new crew could be found. The pilot will face court shortly and may face up to 11 years jail.
By: Ren Frew - 10th August 2003 at 20:30
Sending the guy to jail for 11 years will never happen. It’s really a question of how out (or in ) context the remark was made ?
Did the pilot respond to a request to remove his shoes with a flippant, joking comment like ” .. oh yeah, like I’ve got a bomb in there..” or did he march straight up to the guard and say “I’VE GOT A BOMB IN MY SHOES !… Ha ha fooled ya !”
It’s important to understand why this remark was made and how the security staff responded. That said, I think it’s a stupid thing to do, and the pilot in question should be subject to company disciplinary procedures, but sacking and jailing seems a little harsh IMHO.
We’ve all become a little uptight since 9/11… fair enough and the US public in particular is perhaps dealing with the changes in airport attitudes more than those of us who’ve been used to stricter security for a longer time ?
If the upshot of terrorism is that we sacrifice our humour and personalities at times of stress, and let’s not forget that humour is a natural form of stress relief, then the terrorists have acheived perhaps more than they intended.
Let’s be sensible about this… An accredited AF pilot is not going to risk his career by doing something so stupid as to deliberately announce he is carrying a bomb. A little interpretation of regional attitudes and humour is perhaps what’s needed. Unfortunately in this case it sounds more like a little misinterpretation of regional humour and attitudes is what occured.
The “no risks” policy is however still very much amongst us and it’s hard to argue against it. I can’t blame US airport security staff for getting stressed and over anxious at times, they’ve got a sh*t load on their plate right now, but let’s jail the terrorists and not the misguided and ill-informed.
🙁 🙁
By: kev35 - 10th August 2003 at 12:18
Personally, I think he should lose his job, maybe even have his license revoked. This man is in a position of authority and of trust. Yes, he may have been joking but surely no-one should be more aware than he of the ramifications of such an inappropriate ‘joke.’ The crew have the authority to refuse to let people fly under certain circumstances such as drunkenness etc. I believe it was on BBC’s Airport programme theat a passenger was refused his seat after making a joke about a bomb.
Regards,
kev35
By: Hand87_5 - 10th August 2003 at 09:42
Surely a joke , but stupid and unappropriate.
He deserves to have his b*tt kicked .
By: Whiskey Delta - 10th August 2003 at 04:57
I’m sure the media and TSA folks will do their best to parade this story around and pursue the most severe punishment to since they’d love to have a pilot’s head on a pike. They’ll try but I’m sure, as we all know, that it wasn’t done with intent so he’ll get a slap on the wrist and let go. The high school dropouts running the security need to get off their power trip and start dealing with the situation like real professionals.
By: Woundsinger - 10th August 2003 at 03:54
A stupid prank to pull in this day and age..
The pilot concerned deserves to be reprimanded for it..
I cannot see him getting eleven years for it though, surely not..
I know it is a serious offence and the jail time is understandably long but in this case I am reckoning on pilot joking(as you stated) as opposed to saying it with malice and the intention of causing problems..
I know others will probably be of a different opinion but hey,ho it would be a boring world if we all thought the same..
Just found a link to the story..
http://www.washtimes.com/upi-breaking/20030809-053223-2019r.htm
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August 10, 2003 at 3:44 am