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JFK Flight Searched For Explosives After Mysterious Wires Found In Bathroom
By
John Del Signore
Published Jul 13, 2012
Modified Jul 13, 2012
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Markus Mainka / Shutterstock.com
By
John Del Signore
Published Jul 13, 2012
Modified Jul 13, 2012
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A Delta Airlines flight bound for Madrid out of JFK airport was brought back for an emergency landing last night around 8 p.m., and the entire plane was subsequently evacuated while investigators searched for explosives. According to the Associated Press, an air marshal found wire threaded through a drinking straw on the plane's lavatory floor. The plane landed back at JFK 90 minutes after takeoff, and all 206 passengers were ordered off while an NYPD bomb squad searched it for explosives.
One woman who had difficulty breathing at the time the wires were discovered was questioned by investigators, who were concerned she may have been creating some sort of diversion, but that was determined not to be the case. Investigators also questioned a male passenger who was the last to use the lavatory before the wires were found, but he was released. The NY Post reports that the wires "were in black tubes that looked like drinking straws."
The TSA issued this statement: "Delta Airlines flight 126 from JFK to Madrid returned to JFK due to the discovery of a suspicious item on board. As a precautionary measure, the plane taxied to a remote location where passengers were escorted off the plane. The aircraft was searched with negative results." Passengers boarded a new flight to Madrid early this morning. It's still unclear what the thing in the lavatory was supposed to be, but get ready to add drinking straws to the long list of things you won't be able to through airport security.
Tagged
air travel
jfk airport
terrorism
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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