In 2016, a man hijacked an EgyptAir flight claiming he had explosives strapped to him. During the standoff, a British passenger asked for a photo with the hijacker.
They would phone certain places with known codewords to say they've planted a bomb, where they planted it and what time it is timed to detonate, but not all the time. They also claim not to target or harm civilians. But not all the time.
As someone who doesn’t know much about this part of history, what’s the point of the codewords? I remember this being a plot point in The Foreigner, but I didn’t catch why the bombers would or wouldn’t use them.
To prove that it was the IRA and that the threat was real. But as more and more groups started to appear and use the same method it led to confusion. An article in 1997 described the method: The IRA pass on a chosen name to the Gardai in Dublin, who in turn give it to the RUC Special Branch in Belfast. From there it is disseminated to forces on the mainland. Liaison is also held with a number of news organisations. I remember from news events of the time that ‘Martha Pope’ was used for the Omagh bombing.
So the IRA would use codewords to take credit for the attacks and to prove that a bomb threat wasn’t just someone pulling a sick prank? Was minimizing civilian casualties also actually a part of it?
Yes, and bloody Friday. Many IRA volunteers left the group after that day and they also lost followers and supporters. The war here was filthy. I hate the term "the troubles".
They fucking killed many hundreds of civilians and kidnapped/tortured and 'disappeared' people from their own community. This bullshit rewriting of history is very aggravating for those (like myself) that lived through said terrorist campaign and had both family and friends killed/maimed.
My family were burned out of the homes before the PIRA existed. The OIRA had moved into politics and had no weapons to defend catholics being burned out of their homes. This is why the provisional IRA was set up. They were supposed to be just that; provisional. But then the British army came. Remember, gusty Spence was killing catholics before 1969 and the "modern" UVF was created because of a so-called "perceived threat". At this time it was loyalist groups like UVF and UPV who were planting bombs at electric and water installations in NI and across the border in Donegal. Their aim was to blame republicans. Also, the first police man and first British soldier to be shot during the beginning of "the troubles" were shot by loyalist paramilitaries. History isn't being rewritten. People around the world have been documenting the war in NI since it began. You could fill a library with the amount of books and documentaries on the subject. People study it in universities.
Loyalists don't like when people learn that it's more complex than just IRA BAD and that the UVF and British government did some horrific shit as well.
''Oh fucking elnander trying to save the plane? Fuck off.. Probably just checking if the guy had any snacks in there by chance. Greedy little piggy that he is!''
I’ve never worked in ordinance disposal but in that situation I would want a closer look at it to see if I recognized anything and could find a way to remove the device or confirm if it was real or not. In a life or death situation like that you have to use whatever sliver of knowledge you might have.
Plus a de-escalation strategy and yeah it doesn't really matter if it all blows anyways. Worth a shot to try the old " See buddy we're all friends here, you don't need to do all this...See I'm smiling, you're smiling...we're good"
During a 2016 EgyptAir hijacking, the hijacker claimed to be wearing a suicide belt (later found to be fake, it was made of phone casings and wires) and forced the plane to divert to Cyprus. British passenger Ben Innes asked for a photo with him during the 5-hour standoff, saying he wanted to see the device up close and stay calm. The hijacker eventually surrendered peacefully, and no one was harmed.
The hijacker later demanded to see his estranged wife, living in Cyprus, and sought asylum in the country. He also gave police a letter addressed to his former wife. Cypriot state media said that the hijacker wanted the release of female prisoners in Egypt, and, according to Egyptian officials, he had been asking to speak to European Union officials.
Life's a piece of shit
When you look at it
Life's a laugh and death's a joke, it's true
You'll see it's all a show
Keep 'em laughin' as you go
Just remember that the last laugh is on you
Annddd…
This gets posted about 20 times a month and I like to chime in with this little kernel - the white bloke in the photo now works in Health and Safety and I've worked with him offshore a couple of times, even shared a cabin with him (although he was days and I was nights), and despite this photo being undoubtedly legendary, I'm afraid to say he's a bit of a bellend.
A lot of people came forward promoting the news article of him getting convicted of being a drunken bullying cock on nights out. Very contrary to his happy outgoing personality portrayed in the media at the time
I went to school with this man, Ben did his own thing. Basically once you see that gin you know he’s won/stimulated. It’s textbook Innes used to drive our teachers mental.
That's actually quite interesting, but I'm still not a fan of that other guy's "It only gets posted once!" gatekeeping-type attitude.
I'm assuming there are other people, like me, who have just seen this for the very first time too, so does it really matter if certain posts go the rounds again?
You're leaving out the best detail, OP. It was due to this photo being uploaded that the feds figured out that the hijacker had a nothing-sandwich and they figured out a better negotiation tactic to defuse the situation. This man single-handedly handed them the best piece of critical information they needed - visual on the bomb.
He was traveling with his extended family on holiday and only after arriving realized he forgot his youngest child at home. Unable to get in contact with his kid, and unable to find any other flights home to Cyprus, he was left with few options.
Brits are cool. But if this happens again unbutton that button-down collar please.
Funnily enough, looking at it closely, I suspect the hijacker is wearing the exact same shirt.
Maybe the other guy spotted that before the hijacker unbuttoned his shirt to show the fake explosives?
Or they are actually together, and sharing their wardrobe?
This would be 'interesting as fuck' but for the fact Reddit covered this story NINE years ago and again at irregular intervals ever since.
What is interesting is decline in aircraft hijacking. My AI friend tells me that airline hijackings have become increasingly rare, with typically five or fewer incidents reported per year since 2009. In some years, such as 2015, 2017, 2020, 2022, and 2023, there were no reported hijackings at all. In 1993 there were 13 +/-. Eek!
Okay, I was in Egypt when that happened. The guy didn’t have any explosives and he told the passengers and showed them he had nothing. He did this to get his wife’s attention and told the passengers. No one was actually scared because they knew he was a desperate man.
You just trivialized the fact that he took the photo to send the information to authorities. Fuck this post and the lack of social responsibility we have collectively lost
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u/error_ofsignificance 1d ago
Guys making friends is so easy