Plane bomb talk 'just for fun'

A former Israeli soldier who sparked a bomb scare on an Air New Zealand plane told a court yesterday that it had just been a joke.

Hayim Nachum, aged 42, a Wellington company director, is believed to be the first person charged under a section of the Civil Aviation Act that makes it a crime to knowingly provide false information relating to the safety of an aircraft.

The bomb alert was triggered by the comment: "My friend has a bomb in his bag," made by Nachum to the flight attendant who welcomed him on to a Wellington-bound aircraft at Auckland Airport on March 3.

Nachum was shown to his seat but within minutes airport security arrived with an explosives dog to check the aircraft. No sign of a bomb was found and he was escorted off the plane and arrested.

Nachum pleaded not guilty to the charge, which carries a maximum penalty of 12 months in jail or a $10,000 fine. However, after yesterday's hearing in the Otahuhu District Court, Judge John Strettell found the charge had been proven.

He stopped short of convicting Nachum until he could hear submissions on whether a conviction would make it impossible for Nachum to travel by air in future. Air New Zealand has already banned Nachum from its flights but in a bizarre twist he was permitted on to one of its aircraft yesterday morning.

The Ansett flight to Auckland he was booked to take was cancelled after smoke was noticed in the aircraft shortly before take-off.

Nachum told the court that he had flown to Auckland with his friend Eyal Aharoni the day before the incident to see the America's Cup final.

He fought to control his emotions as he outlined what happened as he and Mr Aharoni boarded the return flight the next day.

"We are good friends. We play together. We laugh together. So I tried to tease my friend - I mentioned that he has got a bomb in his bag just so I get a reaction from my friend. I was doing that for fun and a laugh."

When he realised the flight attendant was "not quite happy" with his comments he explained that there were no bag scanners or metal detectors on domestic flights so anyone could carry a knife, bomb or gun onto an aircraft.

He was worried because an Afghani flight had been hijacked to London the previous day.

Wellington Hurricanes player Inoke Afeaki appeared as a character witness for Nachum, testifying that the accused was a fun-loving, family man with "a great sense of humour."

Afeaki said travelling rugby teams had been known to make similar comments but were never taken seriously.

Mr Aharoni, Nachum's business partner and a former major in the Israeli Army, said the accused had meant nothing by the remark. "I've known Mr Nachum for many years and it was a joke in a smiley way. I know the difference between someone making a joke and someone making a bomb threat."

Judge Strettell asked Mr Aharoni what he imagined would happen if he had made a similar comment boarding an aircraft in Tel Aviv.

Mr Aharoni replied: "In Tel Aviv airport I was working for the security forces and we have means of ascertaining who is a suspect and who is not. If you are a suspect then you are treated much more seriously than if you are a local."

The pilot, Captain Hugh Masters, told the court it was irrelevant whether Nachum was joking when he claimed his friend had a bomb.

"As far as I'm concerned there had been a direct threat made to the aircraft and I couldn't possibly close the doors and continue to fly while a threat like that had been made ... when somebody could speak up once I'm airborne and say, 'This is for real'."