A British man on an EgyptAir flight that was hijacked Tuesday has found himself thrust into the limelight after a photo has gone public showing him smiling in a photo with the hijacker.
The hijacker, identified as Seif Eldin Mustafa, took over the flight bound for Cairo from Alexandria, and forced it to land in Cyprus.
According to The Guardian, Ben Innes, 26, was one of the three passengers and four crew members held on the plane after it had landed at Larnaca Airport in Cyprus.
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The plane remained on the tarmac for several hours until Mustafa surrendered and released the remaining hostages.
It was during that standoff at the airport that Innes took a picture with Mustafa.
“I thought, why not? If he blows us all up, it won’t matter anyway,” Innes said.
“I’m not sure why I did it, I just threw caution to the wind while trying to stay cheerful in the face of adversity. I figured if his bomb was real I’d nothing to lose anyway, so took a chance to get a closer look at it,” Innes told The Sun. “I got one of the cabin crew to translate for me and asked him if I could do a selfie with him. He just shrugged OK, so I stood by him and smiled for the camera while a stewardess did the snap. It has to be the best selfie ever.”
Innes sent the picture to several friends and family members while he was on the plane.
Mustafa was arrested
