Man set blaze on jet at airport

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A man used a plank of wood to scale a perimeter fence at Glasgow Airport before setting fire to a holiday jet, a court has heard.

Safet Bukoshi caused £103,000 of damage to the British Midlands jet, which had 1,600 litres of fuel in its tank, during the incident in January 2005.

Fire crews managed to extinguish the blaze before it turned into a "catastrophe", the court was told.

Sentence on the 36-year-old Albanian national was deferred for reports.

Bukoshi admitted to culpably and recklessly setting fire to the plane, and a further charge under the Aviation Security Act.

Smoke damaged

The High Court in Glasgow was told Bukoshi drove in a borrowed BMW car to the airport at about 0300 GMT on 22 January, 2005, from his flat in the city's Garnethill.

He was seen heading along the M8 with a plank of wood strapped to the car, before airport CCTV then showed him parking the car at a perimeter fence about an hour later and using the wood as a makeshift ramp to climb over the fence.

Bukoshi, who was wearing a bright fluorescent jacket and carrying a bag, then ran towards the stand where a 50-seater BMI Embraer plane was parked.

The court was told witnesses initially thought Bukoshi was a member of airport staff, but when he ran back towards the fence without the bag they realised the aircraft was on fire.

Firefighters found a window above the left wing alight. Other parts of the wing were also on fire and the inside of the aircraft was found to be smoke damaged.

The blaze was quickly extinguished, but the repair bill totalled £103,000 including six new windows, fresh paintwork, extensive cleaning to the inside and work on the left wing.

A senior manager for the airline later said in a report there had been potential that morning for "a catastrophic fire".

Bukoshi fled via ferry and train to the Republic of Ireland after the incident.

Mental illness

He had originally come to Scotland having absconded in Ireland in July 2004 while awaiting trial for an arson attack on a Ferrari that caused £100,000 of damage.

After the fire, officers had also found a number of items including plastic flowers and a jug.

Prosecutor Hugh Irwin said: "The accused's landlord later identified these items as having come from the flat where the accused lived."

Bukoshi was extradited back to Scotland in February last year after becoming the subject of a European Arrest Warrant.

Peter Gray QC, defending, said father-of-four Bukoshi had a mental illness which brought "delusional beliefs" and had set fire to the aeroplane after receiving a message from the Archangel Gabriel.

Judge Lady Dorrian placed him on an interim compulsion order for him to remain at the State Hospital in Carstairs.

She adjourned the case until next month to hear evidence from at least one psychiatrist who has dealt with Bukoshi.

Bukoshi was jailed for five years at a Dublin court in 2007 for setting fire to two cars, including the top-of-the range Ferrari.

He claimed he had received "a message in English from God" to burn the vehicles.