Man was escorted off plane and jailed after saying ‘banned’ word on airplane
A man who was escorted off a plane and jailed got a rather harsh but clear lesson in why telling certain jokes on a plane is a very bad idea.
Last year Mack Bjorn was boarding a flight on his 27th birthday at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Florida with the intention to fly across the US to San Francisco.
While on that bridge they use to connect planes to the airport terminal so passengers can board, the man made the incredibly ill-advised joke that the TSA 'had missed a bomb in his bag', according to an arrest report.
As if joking about having smuggled a bomb on board the plane wasn't bad enough, the man was allegedly then confronted by a flight attendant about his joke and is accused of making another poor decision.
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Local10 reported that according to the arrest report the man 'reaffirmed that the TSA missed the bomb in his bag' when confronted with what he'd said instead of admitting he was trying to do a joke.
It turns out that airports are not the place to be joking about being in possession of a bomb, as Bjorn was arrested and spent the rest of his birthday behind bars.
Police searched the man's belongings and did not find a bomb.
There are several words and phrases you should probably not say on a plane, many of which have to do with bombs and terrorism.
Joking that you have a bomb and then doubling down on your joke when airplane staff ask you whether you're serious is a great way to get arrested on suspicion of trying to bring a bomb onto a plane.
A judge found probably cause to charge Mack Bjorn with making a false report of a bomb, arson or weapon of mass destruction, which is a second-degree felony. He has pleaded not guilty.
In a statement to PEOPLE, Bjorn's lawyer, George Reres, said: "We acknowledge the severity of the charges under Florida Statute 790.164 against my client and emphasize our commitment to a fair legal process.
"My client regrets the incident, which allegedly stemmed from a joke with no intent to cause fear or harm. We stress that there was no plan to act on the statement, highlighting a moment of very poor judgment rather than malice."
"We are fully cooperating with authorities to clarify the context and intent of the remark.
"Our goal is to resolve this matter by demonstrating the lack of any criminal intent behind the comment. We request public patience and understanding as we proceed, respecting the principles of justice and the presumption of innocence."
On top of not joking that you have a bomb while getting onto the plane, it's also a really good idea not to call in a bomb threat on a flight because you're scared that you'll miss it and need to delay it a little while.
That's what Ajmeer Bhadraiah did when attempting to board a flight in India, having already missed a previous plane earlier that same day as he was now running the risk of failing to make it onto two flights in a day.
Boarding gates were closed by the time he reached the airport, so he called in the bomb threat to delay the plane taking off.
The man was taken into custody and charged.
Joe Harker