Source: Xinhua Author: 05/22/2009
Subject Concerned: Aircrew Airlines
An Australian flight attendant was jailed for 18 months in England for creating a bomb hoax on a London-bound plane.
Matthew Carney, 24, pleaded guilty on May 21 to "inducing a false belief that an object liable to explode" on board his Emirates flight EK011 from Dubai to London in March.
Handing down Carney's sentence, judge Richard Brown said the Australian had breached the trust of the plane's 164 passengers, its owner and his co-workers.
Carney was arrested after the Emirates flight landed at Gatwick airport amid a major security scare about whether there was a bomb on board.
While no explosive devices were found, two notes referring to a bomb on the jumbo were discovered - one in a passenger toilet and another in Carney's luggage.
Fears about a bomb being on board the plane arose when a passenger on board the Boeing found the note 10 minutes before the plane was due to land and raised the alarm.
When the flight arrived at Gatwick airport it was taken to a secure holding area and surrounded by armed police.
The passengers and 16 crew were taken off the plane and interviewed and Carney was arrested shortly afterwards.