Dennis RomeroA Southwest Airlines flight from LAX to Austin was diverted to Phoenix today because of an unspecified security threat, according to the airline.
News reports out of Phoenix say the issue was a “suspicious device” reported by law enforcement officials in L.A.
The plane was isolated on a runway on the west side Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Southwest says, and then evacuated.
BREAKING:Phoenix PD- all entrances to PHX Sky Harbor are CLOSED while officers investigate threat on plane twitter.com/JaredDillingha…
— Jared Dillingham (@JaredDillingham) June 10, 2013
Street traffic near that area would be diverted, according to the airline.
The LAPD and a local FAA official had no information for the Weekly regarding the incident.
The airline sent us this statement:
Out of an abundance of caution, the captain of Southwest Airlines flight 2675, en route from Los Angeles to Austin, safely landed in Phoenix to look into a possible security threat. The 143 Customers are being deplaned via airstairs and we will accommodate them on their way to AUS as soon as possible.
Credit: FlightAware.com
The fight appears to have been diverted after it passed Phoenix. An LAX spokeswoman told the Weekly the plane, fight 2675, left LAX at 2:12 p.m. and then was diverted to Phoenix after it “received a threat at about 2:58 p.m.”
[Update at 5:07 p.m.]: Lourdes Arocho of the FBI says that someone phoned in a threat regarding the aircraft, prompting the diversion and landing for further investigation by federal authorities and their “law enforcement partners.”
She could not confirm whether or not the threat referred to a device and said it was something she was looking into.
[Update at 5:16 p.m.]: The FBI released this statement, under the subject heading “bomb threat:”
The FBI and law enforcement partners are responding to a telephonic bomb threat made this afternoon regarding a specific flight. The flight, destined for Texas, departed LAX at 2:12pm and was diverted to Phoenix for further investigation. The flight landed safely at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix and the aircraft is being directed to an isolated area at the airport. The FBI and law enforcement partners are responding to conduct an investigation of the aircraft, as well as to determine the person/s responsible for the threat.
[Update at 11:42 p.m.]: The FBI tonight stated a search of the plane turned up no sign of a bomb.
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