Qantas says LAX bomb threat a hoax

A Qantas plane bound for Sydney on Friday was delayed for several hours and all of its 347 passengers and 20 crew members were forced to deplane while all the luggage on board was removed and the bags and the aircraft were examined by officials from the TSA and FBI. The six-hour-long search did not turn up any explosives.

Prior to the search, a threat had been made against the flight, according Los Angeles International Airport officials.

No bomb or any type of explosive device was found, authorities reported.

The plane, at the gate in preparation for a 10 a.m. departure to Sydney, had 20 crew members and 347 passengers on board the plane, when officials received a phone call stating that a bomb was on the plane, reported the FBI’s Laura Eimiller.

A spokeswoman for LAX, Nancy Castles, said that passengers and crew were quickly removed from the aircraft and that they were searched by TSA officials – as were their carry on bags.

The Qantas aircraft was moved to a remote area of the airport, where law enforcement agencies conducted a search of it and the checked luggage on the plane, Castles noted. The search was coordinated by the FBI.

Passengers spent the majority of the day and evening at airport hotels during the search of the plane and luggage.

A spokesman for Qantas, Lloyd Quartermaine, confirmed that authorities determined the bomb threat was a hoax, and that the flight was rescheduled for an 11 p.m. departure.

www.qantas.com.au