Marc Flemming
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Registered: Jan 2003
Local time: 01:45 AM
Location: Santa Cruz
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A Dallas-bound jet was searched by federal and local security at Southwest Florida International Airport on Friday after a psychic called and said a bomb might be on board.
The crew of American Airlines Flight 1304 was evacuated while bomb-detecting dogs and members of the Transportation Security Administration and Port Authority Police searched for explosives, said Doug Perkins, local TSA director.
Nothing suspicious was found. None of the 128 passengers had boarded the aircraft before the search began, Perkins said.
“We were notified early today of a call that was made by a supposed psychic that said there may be a bomb on board an aircraft,” Perkins said. “It’s unusual, but in these times, we can’t ignore anything. We want to take the appropriate measures.”
Tim Wagner, a American Airlines spokesman, also said the call came from a psychic, but his company was told about it by the TSA, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security.
TSA officials would not say where the call was made from or who it was made to.
The flight — scheduled to depart at 12:46 p.m. — was canceled because some crew members did not have enough flight time remaining by the time the search wrapped up, Wagner said.
Paul Moss, vacationing from Minnesota, was scheduled to make the Dallas trip. He said security — some in uniform, some in plainclothes — showed up at the gate about a half-hour before departure.
“Nobody would tell us what was the problem, only that they had a problem with (the steward),” Moss said as he waited for a 6 p.m. Continental flight.
One flight crew member felt uncomfortable about the flight, Perkins said.
About 25 percent of the passengers were scheduled to take later flights Friday to Dallas. The rest will leave this morning, officials said.
Source: News Press
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04-03-2004 07:43 PM
