Advertisement

US Fighter Jets Escort Airliner After Threat

US Fighter Jets Escort Airliner After Threat

The FBI is investigating threats made to US-bound airliners claiming chemical weapons were on board.

Two planes were searched at John F Kennedy Airport after anonymous calls, possibly from the same source, against the flights.

US military jets were scrambled on Monday morning to escort one of the planes, an Air France service, into the city.

Investigators said the plane landed safely and a search found "no incidents or hazards" on board.

Maryland State Police received the anonymous call relating to Flight 22, which flew from Paris to New York.

Two US Air Force F15 planes followed the Airbus into US airspace, said NORAD, a joint US-Canadian monitoring force.

Flight 22 was taken to a special area at JFK airport for a security check, said an Air France official in Paris.

A Saudia flight from Jeddah was also checked out because of a threat, said officials.

A third threat was made against an American Airlines jet while it was flying from Birmingham, England, to JFK.

Authorities initially told the pilot to land and taxi to a remote area away from the terminal.

But they later decided the threat was not credible and cleared the plane to go to the terminal, said airline spokesman Kent Powell.

Authorities are also said to be investigating threats against planes coming into Newark Liberty International Airport on Monday.

The New York Post reports a caller claimed chemical weapons were on board a Delta Air Lines flight to the New Jersey airport.

Another call said a Newark-bound cargo plane was carrying a bomb, according to the Post.

Monday's apparent hoaxes came amid heightened security in the US for Memorial Day, which commemorates America's war dead.

On Sunday, police in Washington DC destroyed a pressure cooker found in a vehicle parked near the US Capitol.

But the bomb squad found nothing harmful and the car's owner was only charged for driving with an invalid licence.