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Air France and Saudi Arabian airlines flights searched after threats Four international flights to JFK and Newark subject to anonymous threats
(about 2 hours later)
An Air France flight from Paris was escorted by US fighter jets to New York’s John F Kennedy International Airport on Monday after an anonymous threat was made against the flight. Anonymous telephone threats against commercial airliners, possibly from the same source, caused a scare on Monday involving four international flights at airports in New York and New Jersey.
Authorities later said two planes were searched at JFK, after threats were made against them. The other plane was owned by Saudi Arabian Airlines. Authorities said the threats did not appear to be credible, and described searches done on three of the jets as a precaution.
The FBI said US military jets scrambled on Monday morning to escort the Air France flight into the city after an anonymous caller claimed a chemical weapon was aboard the aircraft. In one instance Monday morning, US military jets escorted an Air France flight into New York City after someone claimed a chemical weapon was aboard the aircraft, the FBI said.
A spokeswoman for US North American Aerospace Defense Command and US Northern Command said two US Air Force F-15 fighter jets were launched as a precautionary measure. “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,” the FBI said in a statement. “There were no incidents or hazards reported onboard the flight by either the passengers or its crew. The plane has been cleared.”
The anonymous threat against the Air France flight was made via a telephone call to a Maryland State Police barracks on Monday morning. A Saudi Arabian Airlines flight arriving at JFK also was being checked out because of another threat, authorities said.
Authorities said the airliner landed safely and a search found no weapons, and added that the Saudi Arabian Airlines flight was being checked out because of a threat. A third threat was made against an American Airlines jet flying from Birmingham, England, to Kennedy while it was still in the air, said airline spokesman Kent Powell. Authorities initially told the pilot to land and taxi to a remote area away from the terminal but later radioed that the threat was not credible and cleared the plane to go to the terminal, Powell said.
The FBI said it believed the same caller made the threats. At Newark Liberty International Airport, passengers were removed from a United Airlines flight after it arrived from Madrid, said United spokeswoman Mary Clark. The plane was being inspected on Monday afternoon at a spot away from the terminal.
Maryland State Police said they received an anonymous call at the McHenry barracks in the western part of the state threatening commercial aviation at about 6.30am, and referred it to the FBI. They declined to comment further.