Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Fighters escort airliner

Bomb threat made against Hong Kong jet

A Canadian  fighter jet escorts a Cathay Pacific passenger plane headed for Vancouver, B.C.,  on Saturday after a bomb threat was called in to police.  (Associated Press)
Associated Press

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Canadian fighter jets escorted a Cathay Pacific airliner coming from Hong Kong to a safe landing in Vancouver International Airport on Saturday following a bomb threat, officials said.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police said that passengers had been safely taken off the plane and that nothing of concern had been found in the baggage.

“This is incident is being taken very seriously,” said Cpl. Sherrdean Turley, adding the threat regarding Flight CX838 was called in to police at about 10:45 a.m. local time.

Canadian F-18 Hornet fighter jets intercepted the Airbus A340 with 283 passengers and 14 crew members aboard and flew alongside it until it landed around 1:40 p.m. local time.

“As a precaution, NORAD fighters escorted the aircraft until it landed safely in Vancouver,” said North American Aerospace Defense Command’s Maj. Holly Apostoliuk.

Passengers said they were not informed of any problems during the flight.

One passenger said the fighters appeared about 80 miles from Vancouver. “I was scared,” he said. “He was near to our plane, very near to our plane.”