South Korean passenger jet diverted after bomb threat
Source: Agencies |
April 12, 2012, Thursday
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A KOREAN Airlines Boeing 777 en route from Vancouver to Seoul was diverted to a nearby Canadian military base after the airline's US call center received a bomb threat.
Authorities continued to search the aircraft early yesterday and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said nothing suspicious had yet been found.
Korean Airlines said in a statement that the call center received the threat on Tuesday about 25 minutes after take-off from Vancouver International Airport. Airline officials said the aircraft with 149 passengers then turned around.
Major Holly Apostoliuk, a Canadian spokeswoman for The North American Aerospace Defense Command, said two US F-15 fighter jets from Portland, Oregon, escorted the plane to Canada's Comox air base on Vancouver Island, 182 kilometers outside Vancouver.
The passengers and crew stayed overnight in the area while officials did a detailed search of the plane's luggage yesterday, RCMP Inspector Byron Massie said.
Massie said nothing suspicious had yet been found.
Massie said the same Korean Airlines flight out of Vancouver faced a similar threat on Monday and the all-clear was given after a two hour search.
He said Monday's threat was called in somewhere other than the airline's US call center but declined to say where.
Korean Air spokeswoman Penny Pfaelzer, based in Los Angeles, said that the caller warned that explosives were on board the aircraft.
An airline spokeswoman in Korea said all the passengers and crew were safe and that the airline would decide on a new departure time after a safety inspection.
Massie said the passengers and crew in Tuesday's latest incident were at a secure location on the Comox base while the search was being conducted.
Korean Air is one of several Asian airlines that have been scrambling to change flight paths for many routes to avoid a rocket North Korea says it will launch later this week.
Authorities continued to search the aircraft early yesterday and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said nothing suspicious had yet been found.
Korean Airlines said in a statement that the call center received the threat on Tuesday about 25 minutes after take-off from Vancouver International Airport. Airline officials said the aircraft with 149 passengers then turned around.
Major Holly Apostoliuk, a Canadian spokeswoman for The North American Aerospace Defense Command, said two US F-15 fighter jets from Portland, Oregon, escorted the plane to Canada's Comox air base on Vancouver Island, 182 kilometers outside Vancouver.
The passengers and crew stayed overnight in the area while officials did a detailed search of the plane's luggage yesterday, RCMP Inspector Byron Massie said.
Massie said nothing suspicious had yet been found.
Massie said the same Korean Airlines flight out of Vancouver faced a similar threat on Monday and the all-clear was given after a two hour search.
He said Monday's threat was called in somewhere other than the airline's US call center but declined to say where.
Korean Air spokeswoman Penny Pfaelzer, based in Los Angeles, said that the caller warned that explosives were on board the aircraft.
An airline spokeswoman in Korea said all the passengers and crew were safe and that the airline would decide on a new departure time after a safety inspection.
Massie said the passengers and crew in Tuesday's latest incident were at a secure location on the Comox base while the search was being conducted.
Korean Air is one of several Asian airlines that have been scrambling to change flight paths for many routes to avoid a rocket North Korea says it will launch later this week.
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