What is the biggest unsolved radio jack 'Max Headroom Incident' in history?

The TV broadcast radio jack 'Max Headroom Incident' that occurred in the United States in 1987 is an unsolved case in which the criminal is still unknown even after more than 30 years have passed. All That's Interesting, an overseas magazine, explains what happened at the time of this incident.

The Creepy And Still Unsolved Story Of The Max Headroom Incident
https://allthatsinteresting.com/max-headroom-hack

At 21:16 on November 22, 1987, the news program 'The Nine O'Clock News' broadcast by Chicago TV station WGN-TV was suddenly interrupted, and after the screen went black for about 10 seconds, the mask A video of a mysterious person with a smirk laughing eerily at the screen was broadcast. The mask that appeared in the video imitated the character 'Max Headroom' made for a British music program. This radio jack was resolved 30 seconds after the program was interrupted by a WGN-TV engineer switching the frequency to another transmitter. The following is the image at the time when the radio jack was performed.

WGN Channel 9 --The Nine O'Clock News-'The 1st'Max Headroom' Incident' (1987) --YouTube


Engineers began searching for intruders, believing that the broadcast jack was inside a building with a transmitter, but soon it turned out that the video was recorded elsewhere, so the search wasn't done. To disappear. And about 2 hours after the radio jack, a new jack will be generated.

At 23:15 on the same day, WTTW, a Chicago broadcaster, is broadcasting the drama 'Doctor Who', and the video of Max Headroom will be broadcast again. Unlike the first time, the person who appeared in the video started talking with a rattling voice like 'That does it' and 'He's a fricken nerd', WGN- You can do whatever you want, such as defeating TV sports commentator Chuck Swirsky, or reciting Coca-Cola product sales while holding a Pepsi can.

Max Headroom 1987 Broadcast Signal Intrusion Incident-YouTube


After that, the video was switched, and after the scene where the person who took the mask was hit by the maid with a slap in the ass was projected, the video ended and Doctor Who resumed.

It is reported that the video could not be stopped because there was no engineer on duty at the WTTW transmitter tower during the second Jack. WTTW obtained the video of the radio jack from a fan who was recording Doctor Who, and reported the incident in collaboration with WGN. I called the criminal a 'TV video pirate' and started looking for the criminal.

It was said that some viewers were amused by the incident, but the two affected companies and the US government decided to confront it. A WTTW spokeswoman said, 'Some people find this interesting, but illegal interference with broadcast signals is a very serious problem because it violates federal law.' The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) told reporters the day after the incident that 'the criminal will be fined one year in prison, up to $ 100,000 (about 14 million yen at the time), or both. I want you to do it. '

According to an FCC investigation, the radio jack this time was found to be due to the criminal installing his own satellite antenna between the transmitter towers. Expensive equipment was not required for the crime, and it is reported that the right position and timing led to the success of the crime. In addition, investigations have progressed on the location where the video was taken, and we have succeeded in identifying the area where the warehouse-like building shown in the video is located.

However, the investigation into the essential criminal has not progressed at all, and the true criminal has not been identified even after more than 30 years. However, over the years, some theories about the criminal have emerged on overseas bulletin boards such as Reddit. One of the most influential theories is that American filmmaker Eric Fournier is the culprit.

Mr. Fournier's fans point out the similarities between the strange video work he created using dolls and masks and the video used for the radio jack. One of the videos created by Mr. Fournier is below.

DANCEHOLE MILKBAGS --YouTube


In this regard, a person familiar with Mr. Fournier said, 'I'm sure he had little knowledge of broadcast communications, and I don't think he was in Chicago at the time of the incident, but it's interesting that he's the subject of rumors. I admit that it would have been. ' Mr. Fournier died in 2010, so the truth has disappeared into the darkness.

The Max Headroom incident is not the first radio jack in the United States, and one year before the incident, the first ever radio jack 'Captain Midnight Incident' just happened. Hacking was a relatively new crime at the time of the incident, so the criminal's sentence was light, but the government, which was concerned about military implications, made hacking a felony until the Max Headroom incident. , The fine amount has also increased 20 times.

Radio jacks have occurred several times since then, but in most cases the criminal has been arrested. All That's Interesting concludes, 'Because the Max Headroom case is strange, the motive is unknown, and the criminal is not caught, it can be said to be the gold standard of the radio jack case.'