Authorities Investigate Bomb Threat Aboard Plane Arriving At JFK
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Authorities have given the all-clear following a bomb threat Sunday at John F. Kennedy International Airport.
American Airlines Flight 67 from Barcelona had about 200 passengers and nine crew members on board when it safely landed around noon.
The plane didn't pull up to the gate after landing, but instead stayed out near the tarmac so police could conduct a search, WCBS 880's Jim Smith reported.
The threat was made over the phone, Port Authority police said.
Port Authority police, a bomb-sniffing dog and the NYPD gave the plane, its baggage and cargo a complete top to bottom search, CBS2's Steve Langford reported. Port Authority gave the all-clear after nothing suspicious was found.
The passengers evacuated down a mobile staircase and onto buses.
Passengers said everyone on the plane acted calm and orderly.
"There was no panic," one man told 1010 WINS' Roger Stern. "Nobody felt like, 'Oh no, something terrible's going to happen.' It seemed like it was not credible."
"Yea, I was with my daughter -- my wife and daughter right there. So it was a little scary for my daughter," said Ken Male.
"We were on the plane for probably a good 15, 20 minutes after we landed, and then we went out to a holding pen and then onto buses and over to here," another passenger described. "It's been about a two-plus hour ordeal."
"We didn't know much, a thing about the bomb," another passenger, Gosep, told Smith. "We just were waiting on the plane."
It was clear the passengers themselves were not the focus of the investigation, but rather the contents on the aircraft, Langford reported.
"They had to examine all the luggage first just to make sure it wasn't a legitimate threat," said Donna Graham.
"No, they didn't question anyone in particular. It didn't seem like they were looking for individuals," said one passenger.
Some passengers said they didn't mind the two-hour inconvenience, despite that the flight was originally ahead of schedule.
"I mean, it was two hours of my time, but it was two hours of my time that I'm still standing here talking to you guys," said one passenger.
The circumstances of the threat are unclear, and the FBI and Port Authority are investigating.
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