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LOS ANGELES: US police searched a Thai Airways airliner at Los Angeles International Airport late Tuesday after it landed following a warning of a bomb on board, an FBI spokeswoman and the airline said.
The jet was taken to a remote part of the airport where some 200 passengers and crew were taken off before bomb squad inspectors boarded the aircraft, said Laura Eimiller of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
A written threat saying there was a bomb on board was found in a lavatory, she said. Passengers and crew of the plane were interviewed after it landed, she added.
The incident comes amid heightened security ahead of the ninth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States.
A spokeswoman for police at the airport said they were notified at 7:15pm (0215 GMT Wednesday) of the alleged threat to Thai Airways Flight 794, which landed at 8:45pm, on schedule.
Eighteen fire trucks and fire engines were placed on standby at the airport before the plane landed, a Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman said.
In a statement, Thai Airways said the plane was carrying 179 passengers and crew.
The flagship carrier said the FBI and transport and airport security forces conducted "a security screening of all passengers, crew, and the aircraft at Los Angeles International Airport".
According to Thai press, the bomb threat emerged while the aircraft was in flight.
The Bangkok Post, citing an airline official, said "a member of the cabin crew found a message written on a mirror in a toilet saying that a bomb was hidden on the plane."
-AFP/wk
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