Men Held in Rome for Joking About Hijack

Yahoo News ^ | January 04 2004

[knighthawk]

ROME - Three passengers aboard a KLM flight from Amsterdam to Rome were detained Sunday after one of them allegedly said the aircraft was being hijacked, then quickly said it was all a joke, an airline official said.

"Yes, it was a joke, but in these times we don't find that kind of joke so funny," KLM spokesman Bart Koster told The Associated Press in Amsterdam. "We handed them directly over to Italian police and it's up to them what else will happen, if anything."

Authorities at Rome's Leonardo da Vinci airport confirmed that three men were being held, but did not immediately give other details.

The Italian news agency Apcom said the men were believed to be Egyptian, although their identities were still being checked.

Apcom, citing investigators, said that toward the end of Flight 1501 one of the three men walked toward the cockpit and said "This is a hijacking," and immediately explained that he was joking.

"I can't say exactly what happened, because, you'll understand, these are confidential matters," Koster said. "This kind of incident happens now and again, and some joker doesn't realize how sensitive a statement like that is."

[knighthawk]

Ping

[knighthawk]

Ping

[leadpenny]

If you see your long lost friend, Jack, on an airplane or in the terminal, don't yell out, "Hi Jack!"

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[CindyDawg]

The passengers should have explained to them that their joke wasn't funny.

[buffyt]

Can we say STUPID!?!??!?!?!

[DainBramage]

The Italian news agency Apcom said the men were believed to be Egyptian

Uhuh..

[CommandoFrank]

"I can't say exactly what happened, because, you'll understand, these are confidential matters," Koster said

adding "of the three, the instigator was the one with the broken arm and multiple bruises over 95% of his body."

[demnomo]

"The passengers should have explained to them that their joke wasn't funny..."

That idiot and his buds should count themselves dang lucky that the passengers didn't beat the daylights out of them. Of course if this happened here in the US, CAIR and other Arab-American groups would immediately send the "joksters" courtesy lawyers and have their talking heads scream "Racism!" and "Islamophobes!" on every TV news channel.

[CindyDawg]

Well, ah that's what I mean.