Thai Airways flight lands safely in LA after bomb threat

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Published: 8/09/2010 at 12:41 PM
Online news: Local News

Thai Airways flight TG794 en route from Bangkok to Los Angeles had landed safely following a bomb threat, Surapol Isarakura na Ayutthaya, head of crisis management at Thai Airways International, said on Wednesday.

He spoke after THAI president Piyasvasti Amranand confirmed to the Bangkok Post that there was a bomb threat on the plane, a non-stop flight from Bangkok to Los Angeles.

Mr Surapol said a member of the cabin crew found a message written on a toilet mirror saying, “there is a bomb on the plane.”

The aircraft, an A340-500 carrying 179 passengers, left Bangkok at 7.30pm Tuesday. It landed at Los Angeles (LAX) at 10.51 am Thailand time as scheduled, Mr Surapol said. All on board were safe.

Mr Surapol said US authorities searched the aircraft after it landed and had so far found no bomb.

The message was discovered about an hour before the plane was scheduled to land, Mr Piyasvasti said.

The captain had decided to continue the flight to its scheduled destination, added.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Los Angeles World Airports Authority were conducting security screening of all passenegers and crew, THAI said in a statement.

Bron: Bangkok Post / www.bangkokpost.com

[Krung_Thep]

Update: No bomb found on plane

Published: 8/09/2010 at 12:08 PM
Online news: Breakingnews

US authorities searched the aircraft of Thai Airways TG 794, after it landed at Los Angeles airport on Wednesday morning Thailand time and had so far found no bomb, Surapol Isarakura na Ayutthaya, head of crisis management at Thai Airways, said on Wednesday.

He spoke after THAI president Piyasvasti Amranand confirmed that there was a bomb threat on the plane, a non-stop flight from Bangkok to Los Angeles.

Mr Surapol said a member of the cabin crew found a message written on the mirror saying, “there is a bomb on the plane.”

He confirmed that the aircraft, an A340-500, landed safely at Los Angeles (LAX) at 10.51 am Thailand time as scheduled. There were about 150 passengers. All were safe.

By allowing the the aircraft to land at LAX, US authorities had shown some degree of confidence in the screening and checking prfiocess at Suvarnabhumi airport, he said.

Thai Airways will release more information as it is available, he said.

*Bron: Bangkok Post / www.bangkokpost.com *

[Krung_Thep]

Flight lands safely in LA after bomb threat

Published: 8/09/2010 at 12:41 PM

Thai Airways flight TG794 en route from Bangkok to Los Angeles had landed safely following a bomb threat, Surapol Isarakura na Ayutthaya, head of crisis management at Thai Airways International, said on Wednesday.

He spoke after THAI president Piyasvasti Amranand confirmed to the Bangkok Post that there was a bomb threat on the plane, a non-stop flight from Bangkok to Los Angeles.

Mr Surapol said a member of the cabin crew found a message written on a toilet mirror saying there was a bomb on the plane.

The aircraft, an A340-500 carrying 179 passengers and crew, left Bangkok at 7.30pm Tuesday. It landed at Los Angeles (LAX) at 10.51 am Thailand time as scheduled, Mr Surapol said. All on board were safe.

Mr Surapol said US authorities searched the aircraft after it landed and had so far found no bomb.

The message was discovered about an hour before the plane was scheduled to land, Mr Piyasvasti said.

The captain had decided to continue the flight to its scheduled destination, added.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Los Angeles World Airports Authority were conducting security screening of all passenegers and crew, THAI said in a statement.

An AFP report from Los Angeles quoted an FBI spokeswoman confirming the plane had been searched on arrival.

The jet was taken to a remote part of the airport where passengers and crew were taken off before the bomb squad boarded the aircraft, said Laura Eimiller of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

A written threat saying there was a bomb on board was found in a lavatory, she said. Passengers and crew of the plane were interviewed after it landed, she added.

The incident comes amid heightened security ahead of the ninth anniversary of the Sept 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States.

A spokeswoman for police at the airport said they were notified at 7.15 pm (0215 GMT Wednesday) of the threat to Thai Airways Flight 794, which landed at 8.45pm (LA time), on schedule.

Eighteen fire trucks and fire engines were placed on standby at the airport before the plane landed, a Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman said.

The flagship carrier said the FBI and transport and airport security forces conducted “a security screening of all passengers, crew, and the aircraft at Los Angeles International Airport”.

It was also reported from LA the bomb threat on the toilet mirror was written in bad English.

*Bron: Bangkok Post / www.bangkokpost.com *

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THAI plane cleared to leave US

Published: 8/09/2010 at 08:56 PM
Online news: Asia

A Thai Airways plane was cleared to leave Los Angeles airport and return to Bangkok on Wednesday, following a bomb hoax on a flight carrying nearly 200 people, the airline said.

Bangkok Post - The world’s window on Thailand | Breaking news, Thailand news,...

A KTLA-TV grab shows passengers leaving a Thai Airways Airbus A-300 following a bomb scare at Los Angeles International Airport. A Thai Airways plane was cleared to leave Los Angeles airport and return to Bangkok on Wednesday, following a bomb hoax on a flight carrying nearly 200 people, the airline said.

The threat sparked a security alert in the US, which is particularly tense in the days before the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

The aircraft “that landed safely following a bomb hoax at Los Angeles International Airport has been released by US federal authorities for its return flight to Bangkok”, Thai Airways said in a statement.

It said the departure of flight TG795 would be delayed by two hours following the US investigation, which included a bomb squad search of the aircraft in a remote part of the airport.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had earlier said no credible threat was found on board the plane after a written threat saying there was a bomb on board was found in a lavatory.

Eighteen fire trucks and fire engines were placed on standby at the airport before the plane landed, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The FBI said passengers and crew were interviewed after the flight touched down on Tuesday evening.

Thai Airways said 189 people – 171 passengers and 18 crew – were aboard the affected flight, clarifying a previous statement.

The incident comes amid heightened security ahead of the ninth anniversary on Saturday of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington.

*Bron: Bangkok Post / www.bangkokpost.com *