Don’t let that plane leave... there’s a bomb!
Passenger running late rang in with hoax threat (but still missed flight)
AN AIRLINE passenger who was running late and called in a bomb hoax in the hope that it would delay his flight has been jailed.
Investigators found that Jacob Meir Abdellak had used his own phone to make the anonymous call to police claiming there was a bomb at Gatwick.
His Norwegian airline flight to Los Angeles was ready to leave when the 47-year-old rang just eight minutes before take- off while he was still struggling to reach the airport near Crawley, West Sussex.
Despite the plane being delayed for 90 minutes because of his call, the French librarian was still late and started arguing with flight attendants after they refused his boarding.
He was told to return on another date to rearrange his flight, police said, but inquiries then revealed that the phone number used to make the hoax call was the same number Abdellak had called from to book his original flight.
Abdellak was arrested at Gatwick 11 days later as he attempted to board another flight to the United States.
He admitted the telephone number used to make the hoax call was his, but claimed he could not have made the call because he had lost the Sim card days earlier.
He was charged with communicating false information regarding a noxious substance likely to create serious risk to human health but insisted he could not have made the call.
Abdellak, of Hackney, East London, was due to stand trial on Tuesday at Lewes Crown Court – but changed his plea in the dock and admitted making the hoax call on May 11. He was jailed for ten months and ordered to pay a £140 victim surcharge.
Gatwick Police Chief Inspector Marc Clothier said: ‘This was a quite ridiculous decision made by Abdellak, who fabricated an extremely serious allegation purely for his own benefit.
‘He was running late for his flight and thought it would be a good idea to call in a hoax bomb, however this turned out to be the worst decision he could have made.
‘His actions caused the flight to be delayed, and also caused a level of fear and distress among a number of staff and passengers on board that flight.
‘The consequences of making allegations about bombs, guns or similar at densely populated locations such as airports are well documented, and Abdellak’s sentence serves as a warning to others that this sort of behaviour will not be tolerated and offenders will be dealt with robustly.’
‘A ridiculous decision’