US fighters scrambled after Twitter bomb threats to two planes
26 Jan 2015 9:49 PM GMT
Atlanta-bound Southwest Airlines Flight 2492 and Delta Flight 1156 landed safely at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, and were searched by bomb disposal units, according to airline officials. Nothing out of the ordinary was found, they said. One runway was closed temporarily, causing delays for other flights as passengers on the two flights were questioned and their luggage was searched by bomb-sniffing dogs, officials said. Delta spokesman Morgan Durant said, “It was a Portland, Oregon, to Atlanta, Georgia, flight. Delta is supporting the sweeping process carried out by authorities.”
The Southwest flight was coming from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. While Southwest said that 86 passengers were aboard its flight, a Delta spokesman confirmed that its plane was carrying 180 passengers. The F-16 fighter jets were from McEntire Joint National Guard Base in South Carolina and returned to the base after the passenger planes landed safely.
Britt Johnson, Special Agent In Charge of the Atlanta FBI Field Office, told Channel 2 Action News that both aircraft had been searched, and agents from the FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force were interviewing passengers. Nothing suspicious was found on either aircraft. “We haven’t found anything at this point,” Johnson said.
Several US media outlets reported that a Twitter user with the name ‘Zortic’ wrote of planting bombs on the two planes, stating in a message to a Delta Twitter account, “I have a bomb on one of your planes, but I forgot which one when I left the airport. Can you help me find it?”
The Southwest flight was coming from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. While Southwest said that 86 passengers were aboard its flight, a Delta spokesman confirmed that its plane was carrying 180 passengers. The F-16 fighter jets were from McEntire Joint National Guard Base in South Carolina and returned to the base after the passenger planes landed safely.
Britt Johnson, Special Agent In Charge of the Atlanta FBI Field Office, told Channel 2 Action News that both aircraft had been searched, and agents from the FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force were interviewing passengers. Nothing suspicious was found on either aircraft. “We haven’t found anything at this point,” Johnson said.
Several US media outlets reported that a Twitter user with the name ‘Zortic’ wrote of planting bombs on the two planes, stating in a message to a Delta Twitter account, “I have a bomb on one of your planes, but I forgot which one when I left the airport. Can you help me find it?”
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