American Airlines aircraft diverted after bomb threat detected

Airline Industry Information, March 25, 2002

AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION-(C)1997-2002 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

An American Airlines aircraft travelling from Portland to St. Louis was diverted to Salt Lake City on Saturday (23 March) after a suspicious note was detected on board.

A child aboard the flight reportedly found the note in the arm rest. The note, which appeared to be written in a child's handwriting, stated that there was a bomb on board the aircraft, however the word "bomb" was misspelled as "boom".

The family contacted the flight crew, who in turned contacted officials. The aircraft was then diverted to Salt Lake City, where all passengers disembarked from the aircraft and bomb sniffing dogs searched for explosives.

The passengers were later permitted to reboard the aircraft, reported The Associated Press.

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