No Explosives Found On Plane Headed To Russia From NYC After Bomb Threat

A Moscow-bound Aeroflot flight heading out of New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport had to make an emergency landing in Iceland after an anonymous caller phoned in a bomb threat on Thursday morning. After a bomb squad searched the flight, however, no explosives were found on board.

The caller told New York police that five suitcases on the plane were filled with explosives that would go off once the plane landed in Moscow, reports Reuters. The pilot then requested permission for an emergency landing and touched down at Keflavik airport in Reykjavik safely.

The plane was evacuated and the 242 passengers and 11 crew members were questioned before they were allowed to take off again on another plane. A police spokesman said no one on board was suspected in the hoax.

Authorities are trying to figure out who made the phone call, and Icelandic police are calling the whole situation a “very serious matter,” in part because hundreds of people were involved in the effort to secure the situation.

“Not only because of the cost, but because of all the resources we had to deploy. It’s not good for the general security when [police officers] are not able to do any other task,” said the spokesman.

No Bomb Found on Jet Forced to Land in Iceland [Reuters]

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.