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Fake pilot
Three people have been arrested and charged after a man tried to get into restricted areas at Auckland Airport dressed as a pilot.
The men were from TV3's comedy show 'Wannaben'.
This is not funny. It was never going to be funny. It was silly, childish, puerile.
You don't mess with security at airports. Everybody knows this. Just stupid.
The charges relate to providing false information to ground staff at Auckland International Airport’s Domestic Terminal.
The penalty for this offense is 12 months imprisonment or a fine of up to $10,000.
So who's laughing now?
Ben Boyce
TV3’s WANNA-Ben star Ben Boyce has admitted the airport stunt that breached aviation security and sparked a police hunt was his idea from the beginning.
Boyce and two of his colleagues appeared in Auckland District Court today charged with breaching the Civil Aviation Act after a co-star dressed as a pilot and tried to enter a restricted area at Auckland Airport.
If convicted, the trio could face 12 months in prison, or a $10,000 fine.
Boyce says he thought up the prank but didn’t properly consider the full consequences.
"I think when it comes down it I can only point the blame at me really,” he says.
"I’m sorry for the alarm it caused. It was an attempt at comedy and like so many of my attempts at comedy it was debatable whether it was actually funny."
The joke saw WANNA-Ben co-star Bryce Casey dress in a rented pilot’s uniform that Boyce says was “pretty shabby” and attempt to get past airport security.
He says Casey looked nothing like a pilot with visible tattoos and an unshaven face.
"It was doomed to fail, but that was fine for us.”
He says airport security quickly “picked holes” in Casey’s story and he was never able to enter the restricted area.
Boyce says on the off-chance Casey got through, the joke would have ended shortly after and he had no intention on boarding a plane.
"The airport checks are working because they did a good job," he says.
Boyce also revealed it was not until they read about the security breach online that they realized the joke had gotten out of hand.
He says they contacted the police last night, immediately after hearing about the story.
"Our intention was not to cause any harm and we didn’t feel like we caused harm, but obviously we alerted some authorities that we never intended to alert.”
Boyce says he and his colleagues have a lawyer and intend to fight the charges, but he doesn’t think the foiled prank probably will affect the show’s fanbase.
"I think the fans will be fine with it, they know the show is from time to time about doing silly things.
"Mum might be disappointed but then again I think she lost some respect for me years ago.”
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