Air steward jailed for bomb hoax

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An Australian flight attendant has been jailed for 18 months for leaving a bomb hoax note on board a plane flying to Gatwick Airport.

Matthew Carney, 23, wrote a note saying explosives had been planted on the Boeing 777 by the Taliban.

It was found in a toilet by a passenger on board the Emirates Flight EK011 from Dubai on 22 March.

Carney, from Melbourne, pleaded guilty to one charge of making a hoax threat at Lewes Crown Court.

He had been working on the Boeing 777 carrying more than 160 passengers and 16 crew when he left the note saying: "Explosive material can be found in the FWD (forward cargo department).

"We have the Taliban to thank for this."

'Extremely tired'

The captain was informed of the discovery as the plane flew over Brussels.

The court heard that earlier in the flight Carney "found" wires hanging down from behind a mirror in a toilet, but when staff realised they were not attached to anything the plane carried on to Britain.

A piece of paper containing the words, "Cargo contains explosives", found in Carney's luggage was linked by handwriting experts to the note left in the toilet.

Prosecutor Dale Sullivan said the threat impacted on the emergency services, the passengers and on Emirates.

Some passengers were left with a fear of flying, Mr Sullivan told the court.

Defence counsel Andel Singh said Carney, who had no previous convictions, had been "extremely tired" and under stress.

Judge Richard Brown said Carney had breached the trust of his employers, passengers and cabin crew.

Carney denied a second charge of endangering the safety of an aircraft, insisting that someone else must have planted the wires in the toilet. The charge will lie on file.