Southwest Airlines bomb threats being investigated by the FBI
DARWIN, AUSTRALIA – NOVEMBER 17: US President Barack Obama departs on Air Force One from RAAF Darwin during the second day of his 2-day visit to Australia on November 17, 2011 in Darwin, Australia. The US President flew to Darwin to lay a wreath at the USS Peary Memorial, and visit the RAAF base, where US Army Air Force units were established during World War II. (Photo by Michael Franchi – Pool/Getty Images)
Southwest Airlines received two separate threatening phone calls about a bomb on Tuesday night, the Associated Press reported. One of the threats was made while Flight 1184 was on its way to Phoenix from Orange County. As a result, the plane was taken to an isolation pad after it landed.
A bomb threat also prompted Southwest to cancel another flight, Flight 811, that was also scheduled to travel from Orange County to Phoenix, according to the AP. Both planes were inspected, but nothing suspicious was found, ABC News reported Tuesday.
More from GlobalPost: Promises, pitfalls await investors in Burma’s frontier
However, the threatening calls have attracted the attention of the FBI, ABC News reported today. Neither the FBI nor the TSA would give specifics about the phone calls.
In particular, the FBI is trying to determine whether the two bomb threats are related, NewsCore reported.
"More than one threat to Southwest Airlines aircraft is under investigation," the FBI told NewsCore. "Investigators in Orange County and Phoenix are investigating whether the threats are linked."
The story you just read is available for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.
Make a gift today, and you’ll get us one step closer to our goal of raising $25,000 by June 14. We need your help now more than ever!