Joke about a Bomb on a Plane Caused Panic ,11 Passengers were Injured

The Jakarta Post - Private carrier Lion Air removed another passenger for cracking a bomb joke on Monday from a flight that was to depart from Supadio International Airport, Pontianak, West Kalimantan bound for Soekarno – Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten.

This was the second time in a week that the airline removed a passenger for making a bomb joke after the company removed YS from a plane bound for Kuala Lumpur from Jakarta on May 27.

The passenger, who was identified as FS, was allegedly joking about the presence of a bomb on the plane because he was angry that one of the attendants moved his bag in the passenger cabin.

FS' joke alarmed several other passengers, leading them to jump out the plane's emergency door, causing passengers to suffer from injuries after falling through the plane's engine.

Supadio Airport operational manager Bernard Munthe confirmed the passenger was removed at 6:40 p.m. on Monday after an aviation security officer received a report on the incident.

“During the incident, the flight attendant had actually informed the pilot about the joke and had ordered other passengers to calmly exit the plane,” he said on Monday as quoted by kompas.com.

However, some panicking passengers opened the emergency door by force and jumped through the door.

“FS has been taken to the Pontianak police station to undergo further investigation,” Bernard said.

Separately, the Cirebon branch of state-owned railway operator PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) also removed a passenger on Saturday after the passenger in question claimed that she was a friend of terrorists following a dispute with the train's security officer. (dpk)