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Air France flight to New York subject of anonymous threat | Air France flight to New York subject of anonymous threat |
(about 4 hours later) | |
A pair of US fighter jets has escorted an Air France airliner bound for New York City after the flight was the subject of an anonymous threat. | A pair of US fighter jets has escorted an Air France airliner bound for New York City after the flight was the subject of an anonymous threat. |
US officials said they had received a call claiming that there was a "chemical weapons threat" aboard the plane. | US officials said they had received a call claiming that there was a "chemical weapons threat" aboard the plane. |
Air France Flight 22, from Paris, was searched after landing in a secure area of JFK Airport. | Air France Flight 22, from Paris, was searched after landing in a secure area of JFK Airport. |
The FBI said later that no hazards had been found and the plane was cleared. | The FBI said later that no hazards had been found and the plane was cleared. |
It was one of several threats, possibly from the same source, made against US-bound commercial airliners on Monday, authorities said. | |
"Out of an abundance of caution, Air France flight number 22 was escorted to John F Kennedy airport by US Air Force fighter jets following a phone threat," said FBI spokesman J Peter Donald. | |
"The plane has landed and has deboarded. There were no incidents or hazards reported on board the flight by either the passengers or its crew. The plane has been cleared." | |
An anonymous call was made to a Maryland State Police barracks at 06:30 local time (10:30 GMT) on Monday and the FBI was immediately told. | |
Although the threat was not considered credible, two F-15 planes were scrambled as a precautionary measure, joint US-Canadian monitoring force Norad said. | Although the threat was not considered credible, two F-15 planes were scrambled as a precautionary measure, joint US-Canadian monitoring force Norad said. |
According to ABC News, the planes followed the Air France A-330 jet into US airspace but out of sight of passengers and crew. | According to ABC News, the planes followed the Air France A-330 jet into US airspace but out of sight of passengers and crew. |
The plane was later searched in a secure area of the airport. | The plane was later searched in a secure area of the airport. |
A Saudi Airlines flight that had recently landed at JFK was also searched because of another threat, officials said. | |
Another threat was made against an American Airlines plane flying from Birmingham, England, to JFK, airline spokesman Kent Powell said. | |
The flight was initially told to land and taxi to a remote area, but officials later told the pilot that the threat was not credible and cleared the plane to go to the terminal, he added. |