Passenger flight diverted to New Mexico after 'security threat'

May 8, 2011



U.S. security officials have cleared a passenger jet diverted to New Mexico to take off again because "no suspicious items" had been found. The aircraft was reportedly initially diverted after the crew found a note with the word "bomb" written on it in the lavatory, but security officials have declined to comment on the nature of the "potential security threat".

Delta Airlines 1706 &mdash; a domestic U.S. flight between and San Diego &mdash; diverted to  in, where the  aircraft was taken to a remote area of the airport. Passengers were interviewed by FBI agents, and dogs searched all the luggage on board. No one has yet been arrested, but the note has been determined to be hoax.

One passenger said the spoke over the intercom, saying: "We're getting ready to divert. It's probably a hoax, but we've got to take this very seriously." After being cleared of any threat, the aircraft was expected to continue to San Diego.