In 2016, 26-year-old Briton Ben Innes found himself at the center of a hijacking aboard EgyptAir flight MS181. What happened next would stun the world: he asked the hijacker for a selfie.
The plane, en route from Alexandria to Cairo, was commandeered mid-air by Seif Eldin Mustafa, who claimed to be wearing a suicide vest and demanded the aircraft be diverted to Larnaca, Cyprus. The pilot complied, prioritizing passenger safety.
After landing, most passengers were released—52 out of 55—leaving just a few, including Innes, still on board. Rather than panic, the health and safety auditor from Leeds (then living in Aberdeen) decided to confront the surreal situation head-on.
The now-infamous photo shows Innes smiling next to Mustafa, who wore what appeared to be an explosive vest. Innes later revealed his reasoning: “I just threw caution to the wind. If the bomb was real, I had nothing to lose. I thought maybe staying upbeat could help.”
Suspicious that the bomb might be fake, he returned to his seat and remained composed. A flight attendant snapped the photo at his request, and Innes shared it with friends in the UK via WhatsApp, joking, “Turn on the news, lad!”
When the image hit the internet, it sparked mixed reactions—some viewed it as reckless, others as a strange act of bravery.
The standoff ended peacefully after several tense hours. Mustafa surrendered to Cypriot authorities without incident. It was later confirmed the suicide vest was a fake, and Egyptian officials stated he had no ties to terrorism. One government spokesperson bluntly called him “an idiot, not a terrorist.”
Reflecting on the incident, Innes dismissed any hero label. “It wasn’t about being brave,” he said. “I just tried to stay human in a moment that didn’t feel real.”
To this day, the hijacker selfie remains one of the most surreal moments ever captured mid-crisis—a strange blend of fear, curiosity, and defiance at 30,000 feet.
