Small point I know, but the plane was not 'London bound' - it was heading for New York (JFK).

Interested to know what happened here. Sky News are reporting it was the pilot who radioed for help and requested the escort. Some incident onboard must have brought this to his attention.

Hope it wasn't some nutter 'joking; they had a bomb.

Let me guess, they found a note in the toilet saying "there is a bomb on board"....

Well, it's only happened about 40 times, so odds on this some joker again.

Originally posted by lister
Small point I know, but the plane was not 'London bound' - it was heading for New York (JFK).

No need to minimize the error... the original post did not contain it... the error was "Edited" In.

I unfortunately cannot change this.

Originally posted by Nerdling
A plane bound for New York was forced to land at the London's Stansted International airport after a bomb alert was called in. As the events were unfolding an RAF security umbrella descended over the capital. An undisclosed number of jet's are now patrolling the south east of England.

I cannot substantiate the security umbrella, nor the "undisclosed number of jets" (Nerdling, please note a possessive is inappropriate in this context). This is not my original post... it addressed what actually has been reported.

The vulnerability of flights to smuggled explosive devices will make any hint of a threat cause to divert a flight. The result is disruptive and a means of terrorism. No group has claimed responsibility and this may tie in with recent anti-terror arrests in the city.

There is nothing that suggests that this is related to anti-terror arrests in London... The flight originated in Athens, Greece and was bound for New York City in the good old U.S. of A. The U.K. became involved when the flight was diverted to Stansted Airport.


[edit on 26/9/2004 by Mirthful Me]

ACTUALLY

1. There is a designed chain of events for a scenario like this. Fighters are scrambled from Quick Reaction pads at a nearby RAF base and will intercept the plane. Fighters will also launch as a backup incase a problem with the first two arises. These will sit above London or just outside the Capital just incase another airliner makes a run on the Capital. At the time of interception the Prime Minister will be notified and asked how he wishes to proceed.

2. Any two major threats of terrorism that happen within just days of each have the potential to be tied together.

Lets see if a bomb turns up .... i very much doubt it

They will not be checking the plane for bombs untill 9pm UK time in case there is some form of timed device on the plane,

They say it could take up to 12 hrs to check the plane





[edit on 26-9-2004 by asala]

Originally posted by Mindsmog
Lets see if a bomb turns up .... i very much doubt it

A bomb squad search procedure can take up to 12 hours.

Why was the plane diverted to the UK when it's no where near the flight path? Surely Spain or France would have been closer.

Originally posted by Britman
Why was the plane diverted to the UK when it's no where near the flight path? Surely Spain or France would have been closer.

Actually, the advisor to skynews explained this on air.

When you look at a globe and the flightpaths taken by airliners then you realise that the shortest distance takes it over/near the UK.

And, Stansted is an airport specifically designed to handle a situation like this.