And finally… ‘He’s not a terrorist, he’s an idiot’
An “idiot” who hijacked a plane in an apparent bid to contact his ex-wife posed for a photo with a brave Aberdeen man before his dramatic arrest yesterday.
The world watched as EgyptAir flight MS181 landed in Cyprus after being hijacked by a man said to be wearing an explosive belt.
An Aberdeen man among the flight’s passengers stayed remarkably calm during the tense situation - and asked the hijacker for a cheeky photograph.
He sent the picture to his friends and it later went viral on social media.
Ben Innes told The Sun: “I figured if his bomb was real I’d nothing lose anyway, so took a chance to get a closer look at it.
“I got one of the cabin crew to translate for me and asked him if I could do a selfie with him.
“He just shrugged OK so I stood by him and smiled for the camera while a stewardess did the snap. It has to be the best selfie ever.”
It later emerged that the explosive belt was a harmless fake and the motivation for the hijacking may have been related to the hijacker’s estranged ex-wife, who lives in Cyprus.
Following the hijacker’s arrest yesterday, Egyptian security forces said the incident was not terrorism-related.
A spokesperson for the Egyptian foreign ministry added: “He’s not a terrorist, he’s an idiot. Terrorists are crazy but they aren’t stupid. This guy is.”