Hijack false alarm sparks armed response at JFK Airport
A ‘radio equipment problem’ on a jet at New York JFK Airport sparked a major security alert which left some passengers ‘traumatized.’
JetBlue Flight 1623 bound for Los Angeles was waiting on the taxiway ready for take-off when a hijack alert was made from the cockpit.
Radio contact to air traffic control had already been lost.
That understandably led to a full-blown response from armed FBI and police officers who boarded the aircraft.
Passenger Alexa Cutis described the scene to CBS News: "I hate guns. They were pointing them, like, at us. It was traumatizing."
"People were crying. Everyone’s texting their family. People were ready to die."
"There was a false alarm sent to tower as a result of a radio communications failure. Aircraft was inspected and cleared with no security threat," the Port Authority said.
"While communication was reestablished via alternate channels, authorities responded out of an abundance of caution," a JetBlue statement said.
It is unclear what caused the communication glitch or how a hijack alert was accidently triggered.
Pilots have a special code which needs to be activated.
The FAA and the airline are investigating the incident.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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