bomb threat

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    Pegasus “Sochi Olympics” Hijack Attempt


    On Feb 7 2014, on a Pegasus Airlines Boeing 737-86J en route from Kharkov to Istanbul, the 45-year-old passenger seated in “2F” hollered “BOMB!” threatened there was a bomb in the baggage compartment and wanted to hijack the plane to go to the Sochi Olympics. His attempt to enter the cockpit was foiled. When pilots entered Turkish airspace, they informed authorities.

    An F-16 Turkish military fighter jet was called to provide an escort.

    The flight landed in Istanbul (on the Asian side of the airport where Pegasus has its hub) where the Ukrainian man was taken into custody.

    There was no bomb. None of the 110 passengers were hurt.

    The passenger was just intoxicated.

    Videos Below

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    Canary Island Threat

    On December 13, 2013, a Norwegian Air Shuttle Boeing 737-8JP in Las Palmas Airport, Gran Canaria had boarded. The Danish captain announced over the intercom that “we have become bombhotade and must vacate the planet directly,”

    The airline’s staff who received the message prior to departure. After the threat was placed against the plane, it was evacuated and searched, as were the passengers. The announcement came when they were already on the runway.

    Passengers were admitted into the terminal. Baggage and the plane were examined.

    No bomb was found.

    The plane was rebounded at 20:40 and went on its way from Las Palmas Airport to Stockholm without further delay.

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    Domestic Squabble and Bomb Threat on Pia Flight


    Flight Aware
    On May 24, 2013, a Pakistan International Airlines Boeing 777-340ER was en route from Allama Iqbal Int’l to Manchester when a stewardess told the Captain Nadeem Sufi that a passenger had threatened to bomb the plane. Sixty miles east of their destination, the pilot diverted to Stansted Airport with a British fighter escort.

    Mr. Mohammad Shafqat and Ms. Ammara Ashraf had been fighting with eight family members, and when the argument escalated, the two were taken into custody and then released.

    During the domestic fight, two men who approached the cockpit were also arrested aboard the plane, handcuffed, and taken into custody to the police station at Stansted. The case is being treated as a criminal rather than terror case.

    There were 11 crew and 297 passengers aboard.

    Although the Pakistani High Commission blames the pilot for making a decision that puts PIA in a bad light, we believe that the fact that because Captain Sufi landed the plane without injury or loss of life, then he made the right decision.

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    Air China Security Diversion

    What: Air China Boeing en route from Beijing to NY
    Where: Beijing
    When: August 29, 2012
    Why: Passengers aboard an Air China Flight were flown back to Beijing and told there was a “map display error or due to turbulence.” On landing, the captain told passengers there had been a threatening message. Passengers disembarked through security and were provided an alternative flight.

    Air China posted the following message:

    “Due to threatening information received about flight CA 981, to ensure the safety of passengers, this flight has returned to Beijing Capital International Airport.”

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    Fuss over Nothing Desensitizes: Bomb cries wolf

    What: Air Mauritius A340 en route from Melbourne to Perth
    Where: Melbourne
    When: May 22, 2012, 2.55pm
    Who: 181 passengers, 13 crew
    Why: While flying north of Millicent, a soft drink can with a spelling similar to BOMB was found on a drink tray. Initially police said the can was wrapped with paper apparently scribed with the word “bomb” and taped with masking tape; but later it was revealed the mixup concerned foreign lettering directly on the can.

    Pilots returned to Melbourne and made an emergency landing. Passengers were questioned about the can, then were provided overnight accommodations in Melbourne.

    At 11.30am after the aircraft was cleared, the passengers were able to board the plane and continue their flight.

    In George’s Point of View


    My concern here is that a rash of fake bomb scares could precede an event. Paranoia vs Vigilance. Foolish or not?

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    Bomb Threat Diverts Korean Air to Airbase with F-15 Escort

    What: Korean Airlines Boeing 777 en route from Vancouver to Seoul
    Where: Comox air base
    When: April 10, 2012 5:30 p.m
    Who: 149 passengers, 12 crew members
    Why: After a bomb threat was made in a telephone call to the Korean Airlines Los Angeles office, the flight was diverted to Canada’s Comox air base, which is 70 miles outside Vancouver.

    The flight was escorted by U.S. Air Force F-15 fighter jets. Three hours after the flight took off, it landed in Comex safely.

    Officers checked passengers and luggage, Royal Canadian Mounted Police were investigating. Police, fire trucks and B.C. Ambulance paramedics were also on the scene.

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    Bomb-threatened Embraer Lands in Buffalo


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Hector A Rivera-SJU Aviation Photography

    What: Jetblue Embraer ERJ-190 en route from Boston to Chicago
    Where: Buffalo
    When: Mar 12th 2012
    Who: 83 passengers
    Why: After a female caller phoned in from Boston that a passenger aboard Jetblue flight B6-923 was possibly carrying a bomb, the flight diverted to Buffalo. After maintaining a holding plan over the airport, the flight landed safely after 8 a m. THe jet was taken to an isolated area of the airport and all the passengers were assisted off. Officers and canine patrol made a sweep of the plane, luggage and passengers and nothing was found. The incident shut down the airport until 8:30 am.

    The FBI said there was no threat and that the entire incident was a domestic dispute. The NTSB made this statement:

    “JetBlue flight 923 (BOS-ORD) diverted to Buffalo Niagara International Airport at the request of the flight crew because of a telephonic bomb threat. The plane landed safely at 8:25 a.m. and has since been cleared of any possible threats. A passenger is being interviewed by law enforcement authorities.”

    Surprising calm after emergency landing: wivb.com

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    Air China Flight Diverted, Delayed Due to Fire Cracker Search


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    Contact photographer

    What: Air China Boeing 737-800 en route from Sanya to Beijing (China)
    Where: Nanning
    When: Mar 6th 2012
    Why: When a passenger found a string of fire crackers and turned them over to the flight attendants, the plane divert to Nanning where everyone disembarked with their luggage, and had to go through scans again. Everyone then re-entered the plane, and it continued to make a safe landing in Beijing.

    One does wonder how the fire-crackers made it aboard to begin with.

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    Air India Bomb Threat

    What: Air India Airbus A319-100 en route from Mumbai to Delhi
    Where: Delhi
    When: Jan 10th 2012
    Who: 117 passengers and 6 crew
    Why: While the plane was en route, an anonymous caller told Air India that someone aboard had a bomb in their luggage. The flight was nearing Delhi anyway, so ATC directed the pilot to land in Delhi.

    The plane was isolated and passengers disembarked at 9.15; then the plane was searched. No bomb was reported.

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    Bomb Threat Calls for Marriage Counseling

    What: China United Airlines flight en route from Beijing to Urumqi
    Where: Jiayuguan Airport in Gansu province
    When: Oct 13, 2011
    Who: Mrs. Wang
    Why: Apparently 27 year old Mrs Wang wanted to make her husband worry, so she made a fake bomb and said it was aboard the flight, which diverted to Jiayuguan Airport. There was no actual bomb, which investigators discovered, and the plane was sent on its way after the inspection.

    Mrs. Wang was detained. Her husband was not aboard the plane.

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    Hoax Alarms Oakland Passengers


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Joe Buvid

    What: Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 en route from Seattle to Oakland
    Where: Oakland
    When: Sept 19, 2011
    Who: 126 passengers, 6 crew
    Why: While passengers were winging it from Seattle, a handwritten bomb threat note threatening the Oakland flight was found in an airport bookstore in San Francisco International Airport.

    The flight landed at Oakland as planned—twenty minutes early, due to some background aviation networking. The fake crisis brought in some real FBI agents and real bomb sniffing dogs who got everyone out of the plane (and screened); and the plane was sent to an isolated location to (fortunately, not) blow up. No bomb was found.

    A false report or threat of a bomb or harmful device is punishable by up to four years in prison, a $2,000 fine plus reimbursement of costs to government.

    Sent from 37 thousand feet headed to NY

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    TWO Pia Bomb Hoaxes

    What: PIA Pakistan International Airlines Airbus A310-300 en route from Lahore Pakistan to Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
    Where: Kuala Lumpur
    When: Sep 7th 2011
    Who: 176 passengers
    Why: While en route, Pakistan International Airlines received an email there was a bomb aboard the flight.

    The plane landed safely in Kuala Lumpur. No bomb was found.

    What: PIA Pakistan International Airlines Boeing 777-300 en route from Lahore (Pakistan) to Manchester,EN
    Where: Istanbul
    When: Sep 7th 2011
    Who: 378 passengers
    Why: While over the black sea, the airline received an email claiming bombs were planed on the flight. The pilots diverted to Istanbul, where the flight was inspected and no bomb was found.

    After immediate evacuation, both planes underwent thorough examination.

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    Bomb Claim Initiates Review


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    Contact photographer Timo Jäger

    What: Interpol alerted 188 member states to look for disguised bombs after claim of responsibility in UPS Boeing 747-400 freighter en route from Dubai United Arab Emirates to Cologne Germany.
    Where: Dubai
    When: Sep 3 2010
    Who: 2 crew
    Why: The crew reported smoke and fire in the cockpit and was returning to Dubai International Airport, failed to land and crashed.

    See UPS Boeing Crashes in Dubai

    Evidence from examination of the scene and the black boxes does not point to an explosion, however the claim will be investigated, according to the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA). The “Orange Notice” issued by Interpol on Saturday will be published. The warning came days after several packages were intercepted shipped from Yemin in mid-September, possibly a test run for an Al-Qaeda attack.

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    Emergency landing in India


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Dennis Löffler

    What: Delta Airlines Airbus A330-200, en route from Amsterdam to Mumbai
    Where: Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport
    When: Nov 4 2010
    Who: 244 passengers
    Why: There are two versions: a call alerted authorities, or a suspicious object was found on the flight. Whatever happened, in any case, the plane made an emergency landing. Passengers were evacuated and a bomb squad searched the plane. Passengers luggage was also searched.

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    Threat Called in to Skywest


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    Contact photographer

    What: Skywest-Delta CRJ-200 commuter jet en route from Helena, Montana to Salt Lake City
    Where: Salt Lake City
    When: October 28, 2010
    Who: 46 passengers, 3 crew
    Why: A bomb threat call claiming there was an incendiary device aboard Skywest-Delta flight 4654 was reported to Skywest at St. George. Law enforcement was notified.

    Bomb-sniffing dogs did not find anything. The call is being traced, and security has been doubled.

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    Singapore Airlines bomb threat

    What: Singapore Airlines B773 en route from Moscow to Singapore
    Where: Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Airport
    When: Oct 3 2010, midnight
    Who: 262 passengers
    Why: The flight was en route when Moscow police contacted the pilots and told them there was a possible bomb on board.

    Delhi, the nearest airport, refused to allow them to land due to the Commonwealth Games, but they were permitted to divert to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Airport where they made a safe landing around midnight.

    Passengers disembarked, and the plane was isolated and the baggage searched.

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    Grozny Grounded by Bomb Threat


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Alexander Nikolaev

    What: Grozny Avia Yakovlev Yak-42 en route from Moscow to Grozny
    Where: Volgograd Russia
    When: Oct 3 2010
    Who: 73 passengers
    Why: Several minutes after takeoff, an anonymous call from Belarus to the Vnukovo airport raised a bomb alert that forced the emergency landing of the flight in Volgograd.

    Passengers disembarked and the plane has been isolated for examination.

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    Bomb Scare


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    Contact photographer TonySilgrim

    What: PIA Pakistan International Airlines Boeing 777-200 en route from Toronto, to Karachi Pakistan
    Where: Stockholm
    When: Sep 25th 2010
    Who: 273 passengers
    Why: After Canadian police received a phone call that there was a bomb aboard, the flight diverted to Stockholm where it made a safe landing. The passengers disembarked and one man was temporarily detained. When the plane, passenger and luggage were searched and no explosives were found, the investigation turned toward the Canadian crank caller.

    The flight was eventually allowed to continue.

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    China Flight Bomb Scare

    What: China Southern Airlines en route from Urumqi to Guangzhou
    Where: Zhongchuan Airport
    When: July 14, 2010
    Who: 93 passengers and 18 crew
    Why: While en route, the crew received a warning that there was a bomb aboard. The flight diverted to Zhongchuan Airport where the passengers disembarked. No bomb was found.

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    Air France Bomb Threat on Rio/Paris Flight


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    Contact photographer Nino Buda

    What: Air France Boeing 747-400 en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris
    Where: Atlantic
    When: July 10, 2010
    Who: 405 passengers and 18 crew
    Why: While en route, the crew was radioed that a woman had called Galeao Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport with information about a bomb aboard the flight. The flight diverted to Recife Brazil and made an emergency landing. Passengers immediately disembarked and were searched. The plane and baggage were inspected for bombs and explosives. Nothing was found.

    The airline reports that they will provide hotel accommodations for passengers. When (if) the plane is cleared, it will be allowed to continue.

    The Air France Flight 447 designation has been suspended since the Air France Airbus crashed on June 1 2009. This flight was designated AF 443.

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    China Airlines:Bomb Joke bombs.


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    Contact photographer Jing-Kai Chiou

    What: China Airlines Boeing 747-400 en route from Taipei Taiwan to Shanghai
    Where: Hangzhou
    When: May 1 2010
    Who: Lin, 58 yr old male passenger
    Why: While en route, the passenger told someone he had explosives in his luggage. Consequently, the flight diverted to Hangzhou where it made a safe landing–without blowing up. The passenger denied there were explosives (it was a joke.) He was taken into custody, and the flight continued to Shanghai without him, arriving nearly 6 hours late.

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    Delta Bangor Diversion


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Jeffrey Schäfer

    What: Delta Airlines Airbus A330-300 en route from Paris to Atlanta
    Where: Bangor
    When: Apr 27th 2010
    Who: 235 passengers and 8 crew
    Why: While en route, Derek Stansberry of Apollo, Florida passed a note— “Forgive me, I f—ed up, I’m sorry”—to a flight attendant and muttered that he had explosives in his bag and claimed he had a false passport. (There were no explosives and no fake passport.)

    Two federal air marshalls isolated Stansberry in the rear of the plane and insulated him with pillows and blankets in case of an explosion.

    (As if that would do any good in case of an explosion! I’m sure the action marshals took was the protocol for such things, however, from a layperson’s position I’m wondering what do they think a blanket can do to muffle a bomb exploding in a plane at 20,000 feet? Keep you warm while you explode? It’s like hiding behind a thimble while being run over with a steamroller, isn’t it?)

    The flight diverted to Bangor.

    Stansberry, who remained in custody after the rest of the passengers flew on to their destination, is an Air Force veteran who had taken a valium and a sleeping pill prior to the flight.

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    United Airlines Bomb Threat


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Bill Striffler

    What: United Airlines Boeing 757-200 en route from Denver to San Francisco
    Where: Salt Lake City
    When: 02/18/2010
    Who: 193 passengers and 6 crew
    Why: While en route from Denver to San Francisco, a flight attendant found a note that was evaluated to be a bomb threat. The flight diverted to Salt lake City where passengers disembarked on to the tarmac. No trace of a bomb was found in the search.

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    Greek Terrorism Hoax


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    Contact photographer Kevin Gutt

    What: Sun Express Boeing 737-800 en route from Germany to Turkey
    Where: Thessaloniki airport
    When: Jan 22, 2010
    Who: 69 (?) aboard (62 passengers and 6 crew) (disagreeing sources)
    Why: After a crew member found a note written on a restroom mirror saying “Bomb. We are going to die today,” and an unknown person called the pilot and told him of a bomb on the aircraft, the crew diverted the plane to Thessaloniki airport.

    The plane was isolated and searched. However no bomb was found. An individual was briefly detained (first in Greece, later in Turkey) for having a pen with ink matching the message on the mirror .

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    Terror Halts Arkefly Flight


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    Contact photographer Ruud Brinks

    What: Arkefly Boeing 767 Amsterdam to Aruba
    Where: Shannon Airport in Ireland
    When: 1030 GMT
    Who: 231 passengers (?) 11 crew
    Why: While over the Atlantic, the pilot asked to divert to Shannon, when a passenger began making threats, and acting aggressively. The Arkefly Boeing made a safe emergency landing at Shannon Airport, and stranding passengers there.

    The security alert was concerning a 44 year old Dutchman who was traveling alone went from being unruly to making bomb threats. After being taken off the plane, the man has been in official custody, held at Shannon Garda station and arrested under the Air Navigation and Transport Act. The plane was towed to a secure remote location for a police search.

    A replacement flight was provided by Arkefly.