This is either incredibly stupid or weirdly romantic – we’re leaning towards the latter although we can see (not really) why some might have deemed this an act of love.
In case you missed it, an EgyptAir plane was hijacked yesterday by a passenger wearing what appeared to be an explosive belt.
Flight MS181 was en-route from Alexandria to Cairo when Seif Eldin Mustafa faked a suicide attack on the aircraft.
According Egypt’s Interior Ministry, instead of explosives (thankfully) the ‘belt’ was actually stuffed with several iPhone cases, which were tied together and covered with a cloth.
The items were stored in his bag as he passed through airport security and later strapped on to “give the impression that he was wearing an explosive belt”.
Not knowing it was a fake, pilots put the hijacker in contact with airline officials so he could demand a reroute to Cyprus. A few hours later and the aircraft safely touched down in Greece.
All passengers and crew were disembarked safely – some were a little shaken by the experience while others found it amusing.
One passenger, an engineer, proudly took a photo alongside the fake suicide bomber before leaving the aircraft:
Engineer on the aircraft smiles alongside the fake bomber and his fake explosive belt.
The hijacker’s motives are unclear, however, a few theories have been thrown around including one that suggests the 59-year-old asked for a reroute to Cyprus so he could see his estranged wife.
NBC reported that he spent the first three hours of the standoff demanding to speak to his ex-wife. According to The Guardian, Mustafa’s ex was brought to the airport in the city Larnaca and it’s believed he threw a letter to her from the plane.
Um, okay…
Needless to say the theory has been the inspiration for several memes including this one:
#EgyptAir #ياريتني_كنت_معاهم this ???? pic.twitter.com/HyvWtQInEr
— محَمد (@imooh96) March 29, 2016
And this there’s this comment:
If he’s willing to hijack a plane for u , he’s the one 😀 #ياريتني_كنت_معاهم pic.twitter.com/Hod6NRDbuy
— Aitana (@nitahstyle) March 29, 2016
All we have to say is, we’re happy everyone onboard is safe.