US plane diverted to Ireland over bomb jitters
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the airline said on twitter that the flight was now canceled and would depart for chicago on tuesday1 a united airlines plane flying from rome to chicago was diverted to irelands shannon airport on monday after a message perceived as a potential security concern was discovered on board irish police and airline officials said1 the 207 passengers and 11 crew members disembarked from the boeing 767-330 at shannon airport at 215 p.m. local time according to jim molloy a representative of irelands police force1 the passengers of flight ua971 were in the process of being searched he said in an emailed statement but gave no further details about the nature of the threat1 united said in a statement that the landing was due to a potential security concern but declined to comment further1 after assessing the situation our crew made the decision to divert to the nearest available airport it said. additional security screenings will be performed on all customers and baggage1 the message made reference to a bomb on the plane a source with knowledge of the investigation told reuters1 the u.s. government was aware of the incident and seeking to establish whether there was any violent intent behind the threat a u.s. government source familiar with the investigation told reuters1 a second u.s. government source said similar incidents involving threatening notes found on airplanes happen about once a week1 the handwriting on the note was being analysed to see if it matched with any other such notes which are periodically found on aircraft one of the sources said. it was not clear whether the note was posted in the bathroom prior to takeoff or during the flight1 police were also taking handwriting samples from the passengers the irish times reported. the message was found in the plane toilet it said without citing sources1 the united jet completed its descent after jettisoning some of the fuel loaded for its transatlantic crossing according to recordings on air traffic control site liveatc.net1