Kuala Lampur, Oct. 4 -- In aviation, a lie can become an operational hazard. False information can alter a pilot's decisions, mobilise rescue services and trigger security responses with consequences for human life. Fabricating a crash or staging a hijacking therefore raises a question more serious than whether a stunt is offensive: has deception crossed the threshold into unlawful endangerment?

International law provides important answers, but precision matters. A false social-media announcement is not legally identical to a fabricated threat communicated to a flight crew. An authorised emergency exercise is different from deceiving aviation authorities. The absence of deaths does not establish innocence, just as public outrage does not...