Bomb 'joke' woman jailed
08.02.08
An 'obnoxious' passenger who told an air hostess there was a bomb in her bag was jailed for 12 months yesterday. Ann Hassell, 34, later claimed it was a drunken joke - but her 'joke' sparked an emergency response by police and firefighters when the aircraft landed at East Midlands Airport . The plane was even directed to a remote part of the airport while the matter was investigated.
Leicester Crown Court was told that Ms. Hassell and her companions were noisy, rude and demanding to cabin crew throughout the flight from Crete to East Midlands Airport on June 26 last year. When a stewardess picked up her handbag from her feet to put it in an overhead locker ready for landing, she said: 'I'd be careful with that there's a bomb in it.'
The comment was followed by sniggering, but the young air hostess, who had only been in the job for 2 months, was unsure what to do about the claim. She told her senior steward, who notified the pilot.
Victoria Rose, prosecuting, said the pilot asked the crew to check if it was a joke and search the bag. Ms. Hassell said it was a joke but, as the bag was searched, her companion said 'bang' and 'tick, tick, tick', and Ms. Hassell continued being loud and abusive, telling the crew: 'I'm going to get you for this. It was only a joke.'
After landing, Ms. Hassell was taken off the plane and other passengers were delayed by half an hour. In interview she said: 'It was a stupid comment.'
Judge Simon Hammond said: 'It was very stressful for the captain who had the responsibility for the crew and his passengers. We live in a time of national anxiety and stress about terrorism. I certainly don't understand what the joke was.'
'It's a topical issue about people misbehaving on planes. This one was full of holidaymakers, including children - and for some, flying is a very nerve-wracking experience. If people make these sort of remarks they must be punished and there must be an element of deterrence.'
Ms. Hassell, of Kirkby Road, Sutton in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, wept throughout the hearing. She pleaded guilty to interfering with the performance of an aircraft crew member. The court heard she had been released from jail 6 months before the incident, from a 4 year jail sentence for drugs offences and burglary. She also had previous convictions for offences of violence.
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