American Airlines flight diverted to Knoxville after bomb “threat”
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- An American Airlines flight made an emergency landing at the Knoxville area airport Tuesday night following a bomb scare, reports CBS Knoxville affiliate WVLT-TV.
A spokesperson for McGhee-Tyson Airport in Alcoa, Tennessee, Becky Huckaby, told the station the pilots asked for permission to land at around 10 p.m. and requested that airport emergency crews be on standby.
American Airlines spokesperson Ross Feinstein said Flight 1804 was bound from Charlotte to Indianapolis when the carrier got a bomb threat.
The airline told CBS News the “threat” came from a non-credible robocall.
After the plane landed, passengers were evacuated and crews found no bomb or technical problems with the plane.
Feinstein said the plane was grounded overnight and depart Wednesday. He said passengers will spend the night in noxville hotels.
One witness told WVLT two people were removed from the plane separately from other passengers. CBS News was told the two men were later seen by other passengers in the hotel after they were questioned by authorities and released.
The station says four or five officers along with a police K9 boarded the plane. More than a dozen law enforcement agents and emergency crews were on scene.
The Knoxville police bomb squad also responded and searched at least two luggage items.
