A Delta flight heading to Madrid out of New York was sent back to the gate at JFK last night after a passenger reported “strange wiring” in the bathroom. After investigating the find, law enforcement officials found no explosives. A U.S. Marshal was on the plane at the time.

The aircraft left the gate ate 8 p.m. and returned over an hour later, after the New York Police Department bomb squad and an FBI unit met the plane and evacuated 206 passengers.

The wires were determined to be non-explosive but were not part of the plane, said Paul Browne, chief spokesman for the NYPD, according to the Associated Press. Officials questioned two passengers, a woman who had difficulty breathing when the wires were discovered, and a man who had been the last one to use the bathroom.

Apparently the worry was that the woman may have been creating a diversion, but that turned out not to be the case. The male passenger said he had nothing to do with the wires, and both were subsequently released.

According to the Transportation Security Administration, the plane taxied to a remote location for the passenger evacuation.  “The aircraft was searched with negative results,” the TSA said in a statement. Delta also issued a statement, saying the flight returned to JFK “out of an abundance of caution” and that “the flight landed safely.”

No explosives found on plane at JFK [Associated Press]

 

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