Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Man calls in bomb hoax on plane after flight attendant refuses to go on date

65-year-old’s threat led to evacuation of 130 passengers and five crew

Vincent Wood
Saturday 20 July 2019 17:52 BST
Comments
The hoax meant 130 peope were evacuated from their flight, along with five crew members
The hoax meant 130 peope were evacuated from their flight, along with five crew members (Getty)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A man has confessed in court to calling in a false bomb threat because a flight attendant on board would not agree to go on a date with him.

The 65-year-old Serbian man, who has not publicly revealed his name, revealed he asked two Lufthansa flight attendants to go to dinner with him but they had declined.

He said he particularly liked one of the women and when he could not find her at her hotel he decided to call in the bomb threat to keep her from leaving.

As a result of his call, 130 passengers and five crew were evacuated from flight LH 1411, which had been due to fly from Belgrade to Frankfurt at around 6am local time (5:15 BST) on Thursday.

The plane was removed from the runway and searched by a specialist police squad, causing an eight-hour delay for the flight’s passengers.

Following the hoax call, Serbia’s interior ministry said in a statement: “This morning at 6am an unknown person called and reported there was a bomb on the plane bound for Frankfurt.

“The police are investigating whether it is a false alarm and are also working to identify the person who called.”

Officers were able to trace the call and arrest the perpetrator the following day.

Independent Minds Events: get involved in the news agenda

A spokesman for the prosecution said he was being held in custody pending charges of causing panic and disorder.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in