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Posted: Thursday, February 21st, 2013 12:56 PM HST

Kona man indicted in hijacking hoax

By Associated Press

A federal grand jury has indicted a 58-year-old Kona man for an alleged hoax that prompted a hijacking scare on a January 17 Alaska Airlines flight. Timothy David Hershman was indicted Wednesday on one count of false information and hoaxes, which carries a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment. The FBI said the charges are related to a January 17 phone call in which the caller told the FBI office in Honolulu that a man aboard a flight from Kona to Seattle was a possible hijacker. Two F-15 jets from the Oregon Air National Guard scrambled to escort Flight 819 in to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, and authorities took a passenger off upon arrival. FBI agents talked to the man for nearly two hours, but ultimately decided not to arrest him. The U.S. District Court will issue a summons for Hershman to appear in Honolulu federal court in the near future.