# Late passenger calls in phony bomb **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 3, 2003, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-passenger-calls-in-phony-bomb/179333 "2003-06-03T10:33:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2003, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-passenger-calls-in-phony-bomb/179333/1 "2003-06-03T10:33:51Z")
> [@](#): > > [http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/West/06/02/plane.evacuated.ap/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/West/06/02/plane.evacuated.ap/index.html) > > A man late for his flight phoned in a bomb threat in hopes he could stall the plane long enough to board, police said Monday. > The man, Richard Allen Harrison Jr., 29, of Klamath Falls, Oregon, was arrested when he showed up for the America West flight, which was already in the air and returning to the airport because of the threat, said Lt. Ken George of the Medford Police Department. “The false report, or bogus threat, was made in an effort to stall the plane so the subject could get on the plane, but that didn’t work,” George said. WTF are people thinking? What kind of an idiot would think this might be a good idea? i hope he is locked up for many years. ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2003, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-passenger-calls-in-phony-bomb/179333/2 "2003-06-03T10:35:06Z")
The kind of idiot that lives in Klamath Falls. 😃 What? I don’t get to make jokes about fellow Oregonians and their poorly chosen areas to inhabit? ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2003, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-passenger-calls-in-phony-bomb/179333/3 "2003-06-03T10:57:16Z")
You have to give him a point for ingenuity. Unfortunately, you also have to take away a hundred points for general asshattery. Dr. J ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2003, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-passenger-calls-in-phony-bomb/179333/4 "2003-06-03T11:10:42Z")
Rest assured that the judicial system will rightfully stomp him with an iron boot. I expect they will make him an example to others. ---
**Author:** ![Bickering\_Annoys\_Me](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed655f/32.png) [@Bickering\_Annoys\_Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bickering_Annoys_Me)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2003, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-passenger-calls-in-phony-bomb/179333/5 "2003-06-03T11:11:38Z")
And they should bill him for the extra fuel for the plane, time of the bomb squad and other law enforcement agents, and some amount for the 30 other passengers (mental anguish) ---
**Author:** ![RickQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@RickQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickQ)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2003, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-passenger-calls-in-phony-bomb/179333/6 "2003-06-03T11:27:34Z")
What a dumbass. I think they should throw his ass in jail for a long time and let him think about this. And about the fact that it might be a little difficult for him to buy a plane ticket from now on. Would you want to carry this asshat around on your planes? ---
**Author:** ![trabi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecae2f/32.png) [@trabi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/trabi)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2003, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-passenger-calls-in-phony-bomb/179333/7 "2003-06-03T11:31:42Z")
Someone over here capped even that guy’s performance recently. A flight from Budapest to Paris had to turn back at great expense due to a bomb scare. It turned out that the anonymous caller had lost in an office sweepstake to win a holiday in the French capital, and - you’ve guessed it - was taking revenge on his luckier colleagues who were on the plane. They caught up with him pretty soon as he’d used his own mobile phone to make the call… :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2003, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-passenger-calls-in-phony-bomb/179333/8 "2003-06-03T11:38:15Z")
Just for the sake of fairness, it should be pointed out that the man is only _accused_ of this crime. According to the article, he’s being held on two unrelated outstanding charges. Didn’t something like this happen last year? I seem to remember somebody being convicted of the same thing. I can imagine somebody calling in bomb threats because they’re mentally ill, but doing it for the purpose of delaying a plane so you’ll make your flight is simply amazing. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2003, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-passenger-calls-in-phony-bomb/179333/9 "2003-06-03T11:40:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by sailor \* > \*\* What kind of an idiot would think this might be a good idea? \*\* The kind with a DUI warrant or two outstanding, who expected it would never catch up with him. ---
**Author:** ![Brutus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Brutus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brutus)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2003, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-passenger-calls-in-phony-bomb/179333/10 "2003-06-03T11:48:04Z")
Pffft. And to think some of you are still against capital punishment. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2003, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-passenger-calls-in-phony-bomb/179333/11 "2003-06-03T12:09:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DoctorJ \* > **You have to give him a point for ingenuity.** Nonsense. Any Dutchman born between 1960 and 1983 can immediately tell you this bloke ripped that stunt straight of _Jiskefet_, more specifically one of the _Kerstens, Van Binsbergen & Kamphuijs_ episodes, circa 1995. Hilarious joke. Of course, I didn’t expect anyone to actually DO it. **Brutus** , oh my, here we go again. Are you seriously suggesting this man should be _put to death_ for calling in a phony bomb threat, resulting in zero casualties? Then, a) you don’t know a whole lot about what it takes to get the death penalty, and b) you’re an asshole. ---
**Author:** ![Brutus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Brutus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brutus)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2003, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-passenger-calls-in-phony-bomb/179333/12 "2003-06-03T12:18:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by spooje \* > \*\*Rest assured that the judicial system will rightfully stomp him with an iron boot. I expect they will make him an example to others. \*\* Doubtful. The idiot that ran through Hartsfield Airport, shutting it down for hours, was given a whopping $3,300 fine. I bet this new idiot doesn’t get much, if any, jail time. He’ll probably get a fine and some probation. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2003, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-passenger-calls-in-phony-bomb/179333/13 "2003-06-03T13:00:43Z")
Cost of Cell Phone Call: 10 cents a minute Cost of diverting plane: 500 x proffessional rate@ hour, price of airport fees, Jet Fuel, delays on the ground due to one less active departure gate as well as the salaries and supplies of the seach team: $5,000,000.00. Getting 30 years in a Federal Penitentiary because you were too much of an AssHat to get your ass outta bed in time to catch your flight: Priceless. ---
**Author:** ![insomnia4AM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/4bbf92/32.png) [@insomnia4AM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/insomnia4AM)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2003, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-passenger-calls-in-phony-bomb/179333/14 "2003-06-03T13:11:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by quietman1920 \* > \*\* > Getting 30 years in a Federal Penitentiary because you were too much of an AssHat to get your ass outta bed in time to catch your flight: Priceless. \*\* This made me laugh out loud! Even if he did make the flight, I bet he’d be the first one complaining for pillows and pretzels. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2003, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-passenger-calls-in-phony-bomb/179333/15 "2003-06-03T13:16:27Z")
You’ll recall my thread wherein my father happened to be seated next to a fellow on a Montreal to Paris flight. This fellow had quarreled with his business partner in the Montreal airport, so the partner called in that the man on the plane had a bomb. When the plane landed in Paris, the French equivalent of a swat team came in and removed him from the plane. After a careful search, he was declared clear; in the meantime the fellow in Montreal was arrested. ---
**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2003, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-passenger-calls-in-phony-bomb/179333/16 "2003-06-03T14:00:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Coldfire \* > \*\*Nonsense. Any Dutchman born between 1960 and 1983 can immediately tell you this bloke ripped that stunt straight of _Jiskefet_, more specifically one of the _Kerstens, Van Binsbergen & Kamphuijs_ episodes, circa 1995. Nonsense! As any Frenchman born between 1914 and 1975 will tell you, he lifted it from the classic 1981 comedy _La chèvre_ starring the immortal Pierre Richard and the then-slender Gérard Depardieu. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2003, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-passenger-calls-in-phony-bomb/179333/17 "2003-06-03T14:08:53Z")
From **Coldfire** : > [@](#): > > Brutus, oh my, here we go again. Are you seriously suggesting this man should be put to death for calling in a phony bomb threat, resulting in zero casualties? Then, a) you don’t know a whole lot about what it takes to get the death penalty, and b) you’re an asshole. You stole my words. I am aghast that you think this crime merits capital punishment. ---
**Author:** ![zwaldd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a9adbd/32.png) [@zwaldd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zwaldd)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2003, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-passenger-calls-in-phony-bomb/179333/18 "2003-06-03T14:23:40Z")
My question is how the heck did he make it, unjailed and undead, to 29 burdened with the judgement to phone in a bomb scare in the event he was late for a flight?? ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2003, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-passenger-calls-in-phony-bomb/179333/19 "2003-06-03T14:37:34Z")
Reminds me of that asshat who ran throught the airport because he left his camera at the desk. Why? I don’t know, I guess he was just that special kind of stupid like this guy. ---
**Author:** ![tiny\_ham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@tiny\_ham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiny_ham)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2003, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-passenger-calls-in-phony-bomb/179333/20 "2003-06-03T14:40:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Brutus \* > \*\*Pffft. And to think some of you are still against capital punishment. \*\* Yeah! And rape! I hope this guy gets raped in prison too! And beaten with sticks! And stuck in the iron maiden I mean look at all those innocent people he murdered… wait. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-passenger-calls-in-phony-bomb/179333.md?page=2)