Cabin crew member also took selfie with terrorist hijacker as British man explained why he took viral image

We're all familiar with the image of a British tourist who decided the best course of action after his flight was hijacked was to snap a photo with said terrorist.

But are you aware that he wasn't the only one to do so?

For those of you who aren't aware, in 2016 an Egyptair flight from Cairo to Alexandria was hijacked by a man named Seif Eldin Mustafa. The flight was ultimately diverted to Larnaca, Cyprus upon the request of Mustafa, who appeared to be wearing a suicide belt, where all but three passengers and four crew members were allowed to exit the aircraft.

Mustafa then began to reel off various demands, such as being put in contact with his estranged wife and a request to be granted asylum in the country.

A five hour stand-off would ensue, in which Brit tourist Ben Innes decided this was a story which needed photographic proof and approached Mustafa to ask for a selfie.

After getting a member of cabin crew to translate, Innes was able to grab a photo with Mustafa and cemented himself as a strong contender in the history of the weirdest events to go viral.

Here's a photo opportunity you don't see everyday (X/journo_paul)

And it turns out he wasn't the only opportunist either, as a member of the flight's cabin crew whipped their phone out for a selfie.

The second image shows air stewardess, named by The Independent and The Telegraph as Naira Atef, who decided she might as well get a photo with Mustafa too.

It's not clear which image was taken first, but fair play to both Innes and Atef as being caught in the middle of a fake suicide bomber's plea to see his wife is quite the story of the ages.

The British tourist wasn't the only person onboard to get selfie either (Facebook/Mohamed Ahmed Elklng)

When asked about what was going through his mind when snapping the selfie, Innes explained to The Sun that he'd simply wanted a 'chance to get a closer look' at the device strapped to his captor's chest.

"After about half an hour at Larnaca I asked for a photo with him as we were sitting around waiting. I thought, 'why not?'

"I just threw caution to the wind while trying to stay cheerful in the face of adversity. I figured if his bomb was real I’d nothing to lose anyway, so took a chance to get a closer look at it.

"It has to be the best selfie ever."

Innes, Atef and the five other crew members may all have the perfect anecdote to tell for the rest of their lives, but Mustafa would find himself in a less fortunate position. Charged with intimidation and threats to seize a plane and abduct its passengers for a terrorist purpose, he would receive a life sentence from Egyptian authorities.