The woman told a stewardess about the message, who alerted the cockpit, leading to the rollout of emergency safety protocols.
An American Airlines flight was forced into a diverted landing after a woman reported a bomb threat, having spied on another flyer's phone nearby. The flight from San Juan, Puerto Rico, was bound for Dallas but was forced to land inIsla Verde just a half hour after take-off, earlier this week, according to a report in People.
According to Puerto Rico's Office of Explosives and Public Safety, the woman passenger saw another receive a text message that simply read RIP, the acronym for "Rest in Peace", and interpreted it as a threat to the flight.
The woman told a stewardess about the message, who alerted the cockpit, leading to the rollout of emergency safety protocols. After the plane landed, the Puerto Rican authorities questioned the passenger who received the midair text. It was revealed that their relative had ddied the day before, which was the purpose of their trip to Dallas.
The plane, which was carrying 193 passengers, resumed its route and prepared for takeoff at 10 am local time.
Also Read | "I Was Pissed": Founder Reveals How Hiring Soham Parekh Drained His Resources
"American Airlines flight 1847, with service from San Juan (SJU) to Dallas Fort Worth (DFW), returned to SJU shortly after departure due to a possible security concern," said an American Airlines spokesperson.
"The flight landed safely at SJU, and law enforcement inspected and cleared the aircraft to re-depart. Safety and security are our top priorities and we apologise to our customers for the inconvenience," the statement continued.
'Charge her'
Reacting to the news, social media users said action should be taken against the passenger for misrepresenting an innocuous text.
"The passenger should be charged with making a false accusation," said one passenger, while another added: "Peeper should pay cost of flight diversion and law enforcement response."
A third commented: "Shouldn't a member of the flight crew just have asked the woman about the the text before jumping into panic mode? Seems fairly obvious thing to do!"
0 Comments