Virgin flight attendant allegedly spoofs bomb threat

A Virgin Atlantic flight attendant appeared in court in Newark, New Jersey, for allegedly writing a bomb threat aboard a plane in January, forcing the London-to-Orlando flight to be diverted to Iceland.

Michael Philippe, a 25-year-old French citizen, was charged with interference with crew members on an international flight, the FBI announced.

Shackled at the wrists and ankles, Philippe was brought to federal court yesterday, a day after FBI agents arrested him in Newark.

US Magistrate Ronald J Hedges set bail at $250,000 (€286,000), turning aside a prosecutor’s request to hold Philippe without bail until he can face the charge in Florida.

Assistant US Attorney Mitchell Epner noted the charge carried up to 20 years in prison and claimed Philippe could flee if released.

‘‘The defendant is a citizen of France, has no ties here, and the ability to travel virtually anywhere in the world,’’ Epner said.

Defence lawyer David Holman told Hedges that Philippe had co-operated with authorities throughout the investigation. He declined to comment afterward.

Philippe did not speak during the five-minute hearing, which he monitored with the assistance of a French interpreter.

On January 19, Virgin Atlantic Flight 27 was en route to Florida when a threat was found scrawled on a bathroom mirror.

The message, ‘‘American must die’’, was written in soap, officials said.

A second message, written on an air sickness bag, stated: ‘‘Bin Laden is the best. Americans must die. There is a bomb on board Al Qaida.’’

It was Philippe who reported finding the threats, authorities said.

As a precaution, the Boeing 747 was diverted to Keflavik, Iceland, where the 322 passengers and 18 crew were questioned and asked to give handwriting samples.

Police found no explosives aboard the plane and concluded that the threat had been a hoax. The flight continued to Orlando the next day, with two police officers providing security.

Special Agent Sandra Carroll, a spokeswoman for the FBI in Newark, said Philippe was arrested shortly after 9pm EST on Wednesday (0200 GMT yesterday) at Newark Airport where he was about to report for work aboard a Virgin flight bound for London.

He was allowed to pass through a metal detector, and then was approached by FBI agents, as well as officers from the New Jersey State Police and Port Authority of New York. He was arrested without incident.

The flight, scheduled to depart at 9.30pm (0230 GMT), was delayed for an hour before being allowed to take off, Carroll said.

She said Philippe had not been the subject of any FBI inquiry or surveillance before the incident that led to his arrest.