RCMP investigate ‘threat’ aboard Flair flight that landed at YVR

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It was a tense few hours for airline passengers arriving in Vancouver from Edmonton Friday, as Mounties boarded the plane asking who had used AirDrop to send out an alleged photo of a bomb.

Richmond RCMP Cpl. Dennis Hwang confirmed Saturday that shortly before midnight there was a “security threat” involving “an individual on this flight receive(ing) electronic communications on their mobile device of a possible threat.”

Police were called out to investigate Flair Airlines flight 2799 landing at YVR from Edmonton.

According to a Row 27 passenger on board, who has asked not to be identified in connection with the breach, the ordeal was “very scary.”

She recalled three Mounties boarding the plane a few hours after it landed on the taxiway around 11:44 p.m.

At first, the officers approached a man near Row 11, according to Vancouver’s Jesse Boyk, who was also on the flight.

“They were talking to the guy about Airdrop,” Boyk said. “One of the cops asked him to show them his phone.”

Another officer paced the aisles, asking passengers who had sent or received AirDrop messages about the bomb being on the plane, both passengers confirmed.

Before RCMP cleared the plane and passengers were unloaded at 2:15 a.m., they were told little about the potential security breach.

“The pilot came on and told three announcements which were basically all the same,” recalled the Row 27 passenger. “He said, ‘We are investigating a security threat … We need to follow what the RCMP instructs.’”

Mounties eventually told passengers that Apple was being contacted about the incident, Boyk said. “It was all very surprising.”

Police are still investigating.

More to come…

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