U.S. Department of Justice Office of the United States Attorney Middle District of Tennessee Jim Vines United States Attorney Eli J. Richardson Assistant U.S. Attorney Phone: 615-736-2124

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES PASSENGER CONVICTED AND SENTENCED
TO THREE MONTHS IMPRISONMENT FOR TELLING FLIGHT
ATTENDANT THAT HE HAD EXPLOSIVES ON BOARD AIRCRAFT

Nashville, TN - August 29, 2006 - A passenger on a July Southwest Airlines flight from Rhode Island to Nashville has pled guilty and been sentenced to three months imprisonment in connection with telling a flight attendant that he had explosives on board the flight, announced James K. Vines, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, and My Harrison, Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the Memphis Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Stanley David Murray pled guilty today before United States Magistrate Judge E. Clifton Knowles to a one-count Information charging him with a misdemeanor violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 113 namely, committing simple assault within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, which generally includes commercial flights in U.S. airspace. Judge Knowles, in a procedure authorized for certain misdemeanor cases, immediately sentenced Murray. Consistent with a plea agreement between the parties, Judge Knowles sentenced Murray to three months in prison - half of the statutory maximum of six months.

A criminal complaint previously filed in the case detailed the facts of the case. On July 16, 2006, Murray was a passenger on a Southwest Airlines Flight from Providence, Rhode Island to Nashville. According to a flight attendant on the flight, as the flight approached Nashville International Airport, the flight attendant announced that it was time for passengers to turn off all electronic devices.

According to the flight attendant, after she made this announcement, Murray called the flight attendant over to his seat and asked her whether the announcement she had just made was important. According to the flight attendant, the flight attendant responded that it was an important announcement. Further according to the flight attendant, Murray responded by saying something like, "I don't have any of those, but my explosives are in my bag underneath the plane."

According to the flight attendant, the flight attendant asked Murray what he had said, and he repeated what he had just said. According to the flight attendant, after Murray appeared to see the concerned look on her face, Murray indicated that he was kidding. The flight attendant was alarmed and reported Murray's statements to the senior flight attendant, who was sufficiently concerned that she notified the pilot of Murray's statement during landing procedures, even though she knew that ordinarily she should never interrupt the pilot during landing procedures.

After the aircraft landed in Nashville, law enforcement officers spoke with Murray. According to Murray, he told the flight attendant in essence that explosives were down below in his bags. Murray claimed that his comment was simply a joke, and a search of the aircraft revealed no explosives on board. Murray was arrested that evening and has been in custody since then, pending resolution of this case.

"Comments on board aircraft like the ones made in this case are no laughing matter," said Vines. "In today's environment, flight crews, emergency response personnel and law enforcement have to take all such comments seriously. Today's conviction and sentence show that we are committed to holding accountable those passengers who alarm - and impair the safety of - other passengers with foolish or malicious claims that explosives are on board."

The investigation was handled by the FBI. The United States was represented by Assistant United States Attorney Eli J. Richardson.