9 Apr 2011

Drunken man jailed after sparking terror scare on flight

3:36 pm on 9 April 2011

An Australian resident, who admitted sparking a bomb scare on a flight from the United Arab Emirates, in London in January, has been jailed for three years.

He is 38-year-old James Glen who was from Scotland but had been living in Australia for 18 years.

Prosecutors had told the court Glen was drunk when he told a flight attendant a fellow passenger had a gun and had threatened to blow himself up.

The judge said Glen had caused a serious threat and had subjected passengers to gross inconvenience.

The incident occurred on the same day a suicide bombing at Moscow's Domodedovo airport killed 37 people.

Two Typhoon fighter jets were scrambled to escort the plane, carrying 163 passengers and 15 crew, and it was diverted to London's Stansted airport.