Ambitious Bomb Threat BA Flight Attendant Jailed

A young British Airways attendant, who scrawled a terrifying bomb threat on a toilet door mid-flight, has been jailed for six months.

Mathew Davis, 22, of Commonwealth Drive, Crawley believed his budding career would be accelerated by handling the emergency well.

However, the plan blew up in his face when it was discovered he was the author and he has now lost his job and his liberty.

Davis scrawled: 'The bomb on this plane will explode at 16:00GMT unless demands are met,' on the rear of the door as the London to Tokyo flight passed over the Middle East.

The captain assessed the threat as a hoax and alerted the authorities.

Davis was arrested by officers from the Metropolitan Police Service Aviation Security Command when he arrived back at Heathrow Airport.

In interview, Davis told police he was responsible for writing the note in the misguided thought that if he handled the situation well he would be able to mention this in his performance review.

He pleaded guilty to communicating false information, with intent, when he appeared at Isleworth Crown Court (pictured).

Superintendent Matthew Twist of the Metropolitan Police Service Aviation Security Command said: "As someone employed within the aviation industry, Mr Davis would have been well aware of the serious consequences of making a bomb threat, regardless of whether he intended for this threat to be taken seriously or not.

"The potential consequences of the threat being made could have led to significant distress and a great deal of financial loss and inconvenience to both the airline and all of the passengers and crew onboard.

"We hope today's sentence sends a clear message that anyone caught making a bomb hoax will be brought before the courts and dealt with appropriately."