December 19, 2004
And the Idiot of the Day Award goes to...
An Italian man on a flight Sydney, Australia to Vienna caused a major security panic when he sent his wife a text message telling her his plane had been hijacked. The man's wife contacted authorities who eventually got in touch with the pilot who was oblivious to the alleged hijacking.
Authorities eventually identified the passenger who had sent the message and the pilot detained him for authorities on the ground. The truly amazing thing is that the message sender, Antonio Casale of Italy, was not charged with anything.
Further Reading:
Joke Text Message Triggers Terror Alert (Associated Press)
Security alert on Sydney flight after text hoax (New Zealand Herald)
Posted by maxthecat at December 19, 2004 12:06 PM
http://www.maxsmewsings.com/mt/archives/2004/12/and_the_idiot_of_the_day_award_goes_to.php