Pilot fined for terror threat"I'm going to fly a 767 into this building."
An airline pilot who threatened to crash his plane into council offices on the anniversary of the 11 September attacks in the US has been fined £1,000.
Paisley Sheriff Court was told that, despite the threat, Kenneth Moody was retained by the company MyTravel and continued to fly holiday jets across the Atlantic.
The company had Moody examined by experts and, after being grounded for a short period, he resumed flying.
Moody's defence agent Scott Banks confirmed his client had simply uttered "a very stupid remark" and had no intention of carrying out the threat.
He said Moody made the threat in the heat of the moment to officials of East Renfrewshire Council, on 11 September, 2002.
Exactly one year before, Islamic extremists hijacked four US airliners and killed thousands of people in targets including the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York.
Moody, 42, from Newton Mearns in Glasgow, admitted conducting himself in a disorderly manner and committing a breach of the peace at the offices of East Renfrewshire Council in Giffnock.
He shouted, swore and uttered threats that he intended to fly an aircraft into the building - which is next door to a school.
Moody said: "I'm going to fly a 767 into this building."
His wife returned to the offices and apologised to staff.
'Overstepped the mark'
The court was told he had snapped during a face-to-face confrontation with officials over a private matter involving a member of his family.
Moody had been described as a professional who was normally "very much in control of his thoughts and actions."
Sheriff Neil Douglas was presented with references from the company in which he was deemed a valuable crew member.
Mr Banks said his client immediately regretted the outburst.
He said: "If he could have taken those words back, he would have.
"He never, ever intended to do any such thing. There was simply no risk he would have carried out such an action, and he realises that he overstepped the mark by a significant amount."
Days after the incident, he flew a plane to the US but when he was there he found out that police had visited his home in connection with the incident.
Moody returned to the UK as a passenger.
He was taken off the duty roster and allocated ground duties while both his employers and the Civil Aviation Authority carried out investigations.
Moddy was examined and it was concluded that he was "fully fit to fly" which meant he was free to resume duties on 16 December.
Sheriff Douglas told Moody he accepted that he "spoke without thinking".
However, the remark had been intended to frighten and cause upset.
Moddy was fined and ordered to pay within 28 days.
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