FBI finds “no threat” after flight from Minneapolis diverted to Texas
FBI officials say there was “no threat” in an incident that prompted a plane flying out of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport to be diverted Wednesday afternoon to El Paso International Airport in Texas.
Sun Country Airlines says Flight SY593 flying from MSP to MazatlĂĄn International Airport in Mexico was diverted “out of an abundance of caution in response to a security concern.”
According to FlightAware, the flight departed from Minneapolis at 2:21 p.m. CST and landed in El Paso at 4:25 p.m. MST. There were 150 passengers, two pilots and four flight attendants on board.
Sun Country reports the plane â a Boeing 737-800 â landed without incident and all passengers exited safely. Customers were provided with overnight accommodation and will likely be transported to their final destination on Thursday.
“We apologize to our passengers and all those affected by this situation, but safety and security are our highest priorities,” a spokesperson for Sun Country said. “We will do everything to minimize this disruption and get travelers to their destination as quickly and safely as possible.”
Sun County said it was working with law enforcement to investigate the situation and the validity of the concern. The FBI El Paso Office responded to the scene and late Wednesday evening confirmed the investigation found “no threat to the safety of the passengers, flight crew or the airplane.”
“Thank you to our partners with Sun Country Airlines, El Paso Police Department, Sun Metro, and El Paso International Airport for assisting us with the diversion and helping make the passengers feel safe at the airport,” John Morales, FBI El Paso special agent in charge, said. “FBI El Paso wants to thank the 156 passengers for your patience as our team conducted interviews to determine the circumstances behind the reported security concern.” Â
A source familiar with the situation told CBS News initial reports match up with a tweet from a passenger who said a note threatening everyone on the aircraft was found in a bathroom mid-flight, prompting the diversion to El Paso.
CBS News senior transportation and national correspondent Kris Van Cleave said these kinds of threats are typically found not to be credible. They are rare but not unheard of and are treated seriously.
Typically, in a threat situation like this, the plane is isolated at a remote area of an airport and is met by law enforcement. Authorities search all the bags, question the passengers and search the plane to make sure there is no credible threat.Â
Late last month, an American Airlines 787 flying from New York to India received an bomb threat and was escorted by fighter jets to the Rome airport. Â
The flight was originally scheduled to take off at 11 a.m., but it was among hundreds of flights at MSP that were delayed after several inches of snow fell overnight in the Twin Cities.
contributed to this report.
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