Airplane grounded

last updated 8 January 2015

Sydney

A United Airlines jet bound for Los Angeles turned back to Sydney this week after flight attendants found what seemed to be a bomb threat. An air-sickness bag found in one of the bathrooms had the letters “B O B” scrawled on it, which was taken to mean “bomb on board.” The Sydney airport was shut down, all runways were cleared, and the returning plane was met by hundreds of police and ambulances. Police searched and interviewed everyone on board for hours before concluding that the threat was either a hoax or a misunderstanding. Officials are on high alert for possible terrorism because an al Qaida–linked group recently threatened “pools of blood” unless Australia pulled out of Iraq. Australia has around 900 troops there.