In what must have been a scary scene for passengers, an American Airlines flight was diverted by fighter jets from landing. This came following a possible bomb threat.
Exactly what happened remains unknown at this time. But the American Airlines flight was headed to Delhi from JFK. That's when a fighter jet appeared and escorted the plane away from its original destination. American Airlines Flight 292 ended up performing a U-turn mid-air near Turkmenistan.
The airline says that there was a "possible security issue." The plane was a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. It carried about 285 passengers on board. Following the threat, two Italian Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon warplanes appeared in the sky and escorted the American Airlines flight to Rome. From there, the plane was searched.
American Airlines Plane Groudned
American Airlines said, "Safety and security are our top priorities and we thank our customers for their understanding. We are working closely with local authorities and will provide updates as the situation develops."
Reportedly, someone made a threat against the flight. So, Italian authorities are handling the situation. But believe it or not, it's not the first time that someone made an explosive threat against an American Airlines flight. Earlier this month, a flight got delayed after a passenger saved their Wi-Fi hotspot as "I have a bomb."
When no one copped to the hotspot, authorities ended up evacuating so it could be searched.
One passenger wrote, "Eventually, several cops board the plane and announce that someone was playing a 'prank.' The prank being that someone on board had renamed their hotspot to 'I have a bomb.' Cue the groaning from the entire fucking plane when the cop announced this. Then the cop gave the opportunity for the individual to come clean (which of f—-king course they didn't)."
Threats are no laughing matter after all.
The passenger continued, "We screen again and head back to the gate (this whole process was a 5-6 hour delay btw). Eventually, we are able to board again and take off but the whole thing was just so f—king infuriating because after all that they were not even able to determine who the hell did this s—t. If it was you and you are reading this... you are a stupid, cowardly, f—king idiot and I hope you are found and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Selfish as—hole that ruined the day of everyone on board."
