Air France jet lands after bomb threat

[Russell D]

News just a few hours ago:

Source = Sydney Morning Herald

Air France jet lands after bomb threat

BRADLEY BROOKS
July 11, 2010 - 2:28PM

An Air France passenger jet headed from Rio to Paris has made an emergency landing in northeastern Brazil due to a bomb threat.

All 405 passengers and 18 crew members were safely evacuated from Air France Flight 443 on Saturday night, said Jorge Andrade, a spokesman for airport authority Infraero.

A spokesman for Air France in Brazil said the bomb threat was phoned in to Rio's international airport by a female voice about 30 minutes after the plane took off.

The control tower contacted the jet and the decision was made to land in Recife, the Air France spokesman said.

He said authorities had not found any explosives after a five-hour search and the jet was expected to be cleared to continue to Paris.

Solange Argenta, an Infraero spokeswoman at the Recife airport, said the flight took off at 4.20pm on Saturday (0520 AEST Sunday) and it landed in Recife at 7.53pm on Saturday (0853 AEST Sunday).

Infraero said in a statement that after landing in Recife, the jet taxied to a secluded area of the airport and those on board were quickly removed.

The airport was closed for about 30 minutes and then reopened.

Flight 443 was on the same route as an Air France jet that crashed last June off Brazil's northeastern coast, killing all 228 on board.

While no definite cause has been determined in the crash, authorities have repeatedly ruled out foul play.

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news...711-1059k.html