Plane makes emergency landing after threatening note discovered

Tuesday, 17 Jun, 2013 0

An Egyptair flight bound for the US made an emergency landing in Scotland after a threatening note was discovered in the toilet.

The airline was escorted by fighter jets to Glasgow Prestwick airport on Saturday after cabin crew were alerted to a note which said, ‘I’ll set this plane on fire’.

It took six hours to get all 326 passengers off the plane and five are reported to have claimed asylum in the UK, reports the Daily Mail.

Passenger Nada Tawfik, a producer for BBC New York, said she found a note in a toilet apparently threatening to start a fire.

She told the BBC News Channel: "When I went in to change my daughter about three hours into the flight, I found a note by the sink saying "I set this plane on fire" with the seat number 46D written on it.

"So I immediately went to the crew and told them about it.

"It was on a hand napkin written in pencil and the pencil was actually still there so I told the crew to make sure to keep it so they can get any fingerprints off of it.

"They locked the bathroom immediately so that no-one could go into it."

Prestwick is a designated airport for emergencies and remained open while the EgyptAir plane sat on a runway.

Chief executive Iain Cochrane said: ‘We carefully plan and train for this kind of eventuality and I am relieved it ended safely and without incident.

‘It was a complex and constantly evolving matter and I want to thank my staff for their unswerving professionalism and commitment during the 13 hours the aircraft was here, and praise the excellent manner in which all agencies involved worked together to resolve the matter."

The EgyptAir flight, which had been flying from Cairo to JFK airport, continued to New York yesterday.



 

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Diane



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