Smartphone Bomb Prank Forces Plane Evacuation
A passenger plane carrying 150 people had to be evacuated, after a photo of a suicide bomber vest was shared to every Apple iPhone onboard just minutes before take-off.
According to reports, JetBlue flight 573 was scheduled to fly from Newark, New Jersey to Tampa, Florida early on Saturday morning, 13 July.
However, a few minutes before take-off, passengers and flight attendants aboard the aircraft who owned the smartphone device received the photo.
The image was shared anonymously via Apple’s AirDrop file-transfer feature, which is Wi-Fi and Bluetooth-enabled.
After a cabin crew member alerted the captain, the plane returned to the gate at Newark Airport.
A spokesperson for Port Authority explained: “Out of an abundance of caution, the plane was moved to a remote area, and passengers were deplaned and bused to the terminal.”
The passengers were re-screened, while their luggage was removed from the aircraft and checked by police bomb-sniffing dogs. Soon, the plane was deemed safe for flight and proceeded to Tampa.
An investigation into the hoax is currently underway.
