Michael Phillipe has apparently (according to various news sources) admitted to the crime and agreed to pay Virgin Atlantic $176,000 as restitution for the cost of diverting the aircraft. Is he still maintaining his innocence in spite of this?
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/2596235.stm
From the BBC:
A French flight attendant has been sentenced to five years probation in a US court after pleading guilty to making false statements regarding a bomb threat on a plane travelling from London to Orlando, Florida.
Michael Phillipe, 25 years old, worked for Virgin Airways and was serving on Flight 27 on 19 January when he wrote "American must die" on a bathroom mirror with soap and "Bin Laden is the best Americans must die there is a bomb on board al-Qaeda" on an air sickness bag.
The plane was diverted to Iceland after Phillipe reported the messages to the captain and another flight attendant; however nothing was found and the plane continued to Orlando.
Phillipe had been charged with three other counts, including threatening to use a weapon of mass destruction against US citizens - a charge which could have carried a life sentence - communicating false information and endangering the safety of a flight.
He was also originally charged with intimidating flight crew members and making a false statement to an agent from America's Federal Bureau of Investigation.
However Phillipe's admission that he wrote the notes meant that the presiding judge in an Orlando court accepted a recommendation that he serve his five years' probation in France.
Phillipe agreed to pay a restitution of $176,000 to the airline to cover the cost of diverting the plane, saying he would pay $40,000 immediately.
The FBI arrested Philippe from Aux-les-Baines, France, on 27 March after it matched his fingerprints and handwriting on the note.
The hoax was one of several security scares on planes following the 11 September attacks, and only a few weeks after a British man, Richard Reid, allegedly attempted to blow up a an American Airlines flight with explosives hidden in his shoes.
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