A Boeing 737 was forced to make an emergency landing after departing from an Israeli airport due to a practical joke gone wrong in which passengers started distributing pictures of accidents to other passengers. A woman reportedly fainted out of fear for her life after nine passengers on an Israeli flight used the iPhone AirDrop feature to email other passengers pictures of plane crashes and other airline disasters.
The event happened on an AndoluJet flight that was about to depart for Istanbul, Turkey, at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport. Ofer Lefler, a spokesman for the Israel Airports Authority, has now made a statement to assert that the incident was a joke gone wrong rather than an act of terrorism.
Now, in an effort to terrify passengers by disseminating false information on the flight, culprits then were all removed from the flight and might face prosecution. Reportedly, a person who commits such a crime in Israel might spend up to three years in a Middle Eastern jail; as Local authorities have said that all nine of the pranksters who emailed the spooky pictures to other passengers were Israeli citizens.
Lefler told Channel 12 TV, “I am sure the police and the security authorities will find out why they (the suspects) did it.”
The flight crew was fortunately alerted by passengers who got the images. And to ensure that there were no serious safety issues, the pilot made the right decision to turn around the plane and head back to the gate, after hearing about the prank.
Diana, a passenger on the trip, spoke to Channel 12 about the harm the pranksters did by distributing the ominous photographs over iPhone AirDrop. “One woman fainted, another had a panic attack,” She told the news source.
After the pranksters were dealt with, Lefler confirmed that the plane eventually took off. To ensure that such an issue would not recur if the plane were to return to the tarmac for departure, authorities first had to inspect the flight for security risks and searched the luggage as well as the passengers.
As long as they are in the same location, the capability enables iPhone users to transmit files to one another. In an effort to frighten the passengers on the AndoluJet aircraft, the practical jokers made the decision to misuse the technology.
By using the iPhone’s AirDrop capability, Lefler confirmed that all of the pranksters shared the alarming pictures with other passengers. As long as they are in the same location, the capability enables iPhone users to transmit files to one another. In an effort to frighten the passengers on the AndoluJet aircraft, the practical jokers made the decision to misuse the technology.
Turkish Airlines crashed aircraft were among the images posted as part of the joke. A second image showed a jet that crashed in the United States in 2013, while the first image showed a plane that crashed in the Netherlands back in 2009.
Sources: AWM, Yahoo, SimpleFlying
