A prank by a 10-year-old passenger on an Alaska Airlines flight to Orlando airport prompted a terror security alert after another passenger on the plane received a message warning of a hijack threat against the flight.
Alaska Airlines flight AS16 departed Seattle at around 9:20 am on Sunday and arrived in Florida just over five hours later. By this point, law enforcement had been warned of a potential threat against the aircraft and the plane was directed to an isolated area of the airfield.
Witnesses say armed police surrounded the plane but by this point, the Captain had already determined that the message was a “non-credible threat”. Police boarded the aircraft, cleared passengers one-by-one and then removed the family of the 10-year-old.
“The parents were saying, ‘Sorry, this is my kid’ and they all just had to leave,” one passenger aboard the flight told Click Orlando.
The child had apparently sent a message to another passenger via Apple Inc’s AirDrop technology.
“After Alaska Airlines flight 16 from Seattle landed in Orlando, it parked remotely because of a potential threat that was later deemed non-credible,” a spokesperson for Alaska Air commented.
“Police boarded and cleared the aircraft. The plane continued to its gate and passengers deplaned as normal. We take safety seriously and we apologize for the inconvenience for our guests.”
