A MAN who posed for a picture with an alleged hijacker dressed in a suspected suicide belt has stated he was once seeking to get a greater look at the device.
the picture of Ben Innes, grinning next to his captor at the Egyptair flight, has long past viral on social media.
Mr Innes, primarily based in Aberdeen, also told the Sun newspaper he desired to “stay joyful in the face of adversity”.
The alleged hijacker was once arrested after a stand-off in Cyprus and the suicide belt used to be discovered to be fake.
How the hijacking unfoldedHijacker jokes divide social media
Oil employee Mr Innes, who’s at the beginning from Leeds, was a passenger on the Airbus A320 on Tuesday when a person, named via Cypriot officials as Seif Eldin Mustafa, was said to have threatened to blow up the airplane.
the image used to be taken right through a 5-hour standoff after the aircraft was diverted to Larnaca airport.
Media captionA man was once noticed fleeing from a cockpit window in a while sooner than the hijacker surrendered
Mr Innes told the Sun: “I’m Not sure why I did it – I simply threw warning to the wind at the same time as seeking to keep joyful within the face of adversity.”
He said the photograph, which was taken by means of a member of the cabin team, was once the “absolute best selfie ever”.
The plane was sporting at least FIFTY FIVE passengers, including 26 foreigners, on an EgyptAir domestic flight from Alexandria to Cairo.
Most of those on board were freed shortly after the airplane landed at Larnaca but the hijacker held seven people hostage ahead of the incident came to a relaxed conclusion.
Mr Innes mentioned a part of his motivation was once to seek out out extra concerning the suspected explosive belt and whether or not it was once equipped with a “dead man’s trigger” that will detonate the software if the hijacker was incapacitated.
The alleged hijacker’s reasons had been doubtful but the Cypriot president said the incident was not terrorism-related.
‘Offering fortify’
Mr Innes used to be at the plane with TWMA colleague Brian Scott.
A TWMA spokesperson said: “Ben Innes used to be working from our Alexandria place of work and was vacationing house whilst the hijacking happened.
“we’ve got been in conversation with each Ben and his family, to beef up each right through Tuesday’s events. we’re very happy that each one passengers and group left the plane accurately.
“Our center of attention at the moment is on getting Ben again to the united kingdom and providing any make stronger he wishes. Till he returns to the office and discussions have taken place, we will be able to be unable to comment any longer at this degree.”
