Man arrested after Qatar Airways flight drama
- 10 years ago
ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION)
The incident, which prompted the authorities to close the northern England airport for 25 minutes, briefly raised fears of a terrorism attack.
Qatar Airways said the Airbus A330-300 plane was flight QR23 from Doha to Manchester with 269 passengers and 13 crew on board.
A Reuters photographer saw armed police remove a handcuffed male passenger dressed in baggy trousers and a sports shirt from the plane. The man was arrested on suspicion of making a hoax bomb threat.
"We can confirm that Typhoon aircraft were launched from RAF Coningsby in their quick reaction alert role this afternoon to investigate a civilian aircraft whose pilot had requested assistance," Britain's Ministry of Defence said in a statement.
"The aircraft was escorted to Manchester where it landed safely. This incident is now being handled by the civilian authorities."
Greater Manchester Police said on their official Twitter feed that they had detained
The incident, which prompted the authorities to close the northern England airport for 25 minutes, briefly raised fears of a terrorism attack.
Qatar Airways said the Airbus A330-300 plane was flight QR23 from Doha to Manchester with 269 passengers and 13 crew on board.
A Reuters photographer saw armed police remove a handcuffed male passenger dressed in baggy trousers and a sports shirt from the plane. The man was arrested on suspicion of making a hoax bomb threat.
"We can confirm that Typhoon aircraft were launched from RAF Coningsby in their quick reaction alert role this afternoon to investigate a civilian aircraft whose pilot had requested assistance," Britain's Ministry of Defence said in a statement.
"The aircraft was escorted to Manchester where it landed safely. This incident is now being handled by the civilian authorities."
Greater Manchester Police said on their official Twitter feed that they had detained