(AP) TORONTO – A Korean Airlines Boeing 777 en route from Vancouver to Seoul was diverted to a nearby Canadian Forces base after the airline’s U.S. call center received a bomb threat.
Korean Airlines said in a news release that the call center received the threat Tuesday about 25 minutes after take-off from Vancouver International Airport. Airline officials said they decided to turn the aircraft around.
Maj. Holly Apostoliuk, a Canadian spokeswoman for The North American Aerospace Defense Command, said two U.S. F-15 fighter jets from Portland, Ore., escorted the plane to Canada’s Comox air base on Vancouver Island, which is 113 miles outside Vancouver.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police Inspector Byron Massie said the plane was still being searched early Wednesday morning.
Massie said the same Korean Airlines flight out of Vancouver faced a similar threat on Monday and the all clear was given after a two hour search. He said Monday’s threat was called in somewhere besides the airline’s U.S. call center but he declined to say where.
Korean Air spokeswoman Penny Pfaelzer said from Los Angeles that the caller warned that an explosive was on board the aircraft. Pfaelzer said she had no additional details.
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