Hoaxer jailed

A man who made a string of hoax radio calls to pilots flying into an Australian airport — including telling one his plane was on fire — was handed a six-month suspended prison sentence in Perth yesterday.

Scott Bradley Pike, 20, had earlier pleaded guilty to two charges under the 1992 Radio communications Act in relation to a series of messages he transmitted to pilots and air traffic controllers at Perth Airport over two days in March this year. The Perth Court of Petty Sessions in Western Australia state was told Pike had been under the influence of both alcohol and cannabis when he broadcast a bomb threat, and told the crew of one aircraft to bail out because it was on fire.