Bomb threat grounds plane on 9/11 commemoration day
A United Airlines passenger plane bound for San Francisco was turned around and grounded at Frankfurt airport after a bomb threat. Source: AP
IMAGINE boarding a plane on September 11 and hearing the captain announce that your flight was being turned around because of “security concerns”.
That’s what happened to the passengers on United Airlines flight 902 yesterday, after a bomb threat forced their San Francisco-bound airplane to ground shortly after taking off from Frankfurt airport.
It’s a sombre reminder that almost a decade and a half after the attacks that stunned the world, the threat of terrorism is as real as ever.
German federal police said that all passengers were searched, along with their luggage, but no explosives were found. “Police received a threat notice warning of a bomb attack,” said spokesman Christian Altenhofen. “We ordered the plane back to Frankfurt, where it landed safely... It was a very specific threat and you have to keep in mind the date — it made us take the threat seriously.” Nobody was detained in the incident.
Passenger Rob Tobias said the captain’s announcement came just 15 minutes into the flight that it was turning around because of security concerns.
“Everyone calm and Frankfurt police and fire professional,” he said in a message on Twitter. On the ground, “all passengers and their luggage screened and swabbed for explosives. Also frisked. Passports also closely checked.”
Mr Altenhofen said the flight had been cancelled by the airline and rescheduled for Saturday. Police were continuing to investigate the source of the threat, which was sent by email, he said.
The incident came as United States citizens marked the 14th anniversary of 9/11 with commemeration ceremonies across the nation.
At the Pentagon in Washington, DC, a giant American flag was unfurled at the spot where one of the attacking planes had crashed into the building.
The flag was placed on the building at sunrise, ahead of public and private ceremonies to mark the anniversary.
President Barack Obama and wife Michelle emerged from the White House at 8.46am, as a bell chimed three times to mark the moment when Flight 11, piloted by al-Qaeda operatives, careened into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York.
The first couple stood solemnly beneath a US flag at half-staff, bowed their heads and marked a moment of silence.
President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, and others observe a moment of silence to mark the 14th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Source: AP
Crystalline blue skies and the hum of jet planes landing and taking off at nearby National Airport evoked that day of tragedy.
The first couple were flanked by White House chefs, gardeners and housekeepers, as well as national security staff tasked with ensuring such an attack never happens again on American soil.
Nearly 3000 people died on September 11, 2001 at Ground Zero in New York, at the Pentagon and aboard a hijacked airliner that went down in rural Pennsylvania.
“We honour those we lost. We salute all who serve to keep us safe. We stand as strong as ever,” Obama later said in a post to social media.
Arianna Scully, 5, of Columbia, Maryland, leans against her mother, Sarah, during services at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Source: AFP
As commemorations across the eastern United States replicated the timeline and solemn geography of 9/11, there was also a reminder that the threat posed by Islamist terror groups remains both clear and present.
“The war that began fourteen years ago still rages around the world today,” said Senator John McCain.
“With the forces of radical Islam once again ascendant in the Middle East and North Africa, we must aspire to recapture the spirit of unity that marked our public life in the wake of the 9/11 attacks,” he said.
The United States must, he said, “devote ourselves with firm resolve to the lasting defeat of the enemies that attacked us that day, and who seek to attack us still today.”
In Kabul, Afghanistan, coalition troops in Operation Resolute Support held a wreath-laying ceremony, with more than 1000 troops from 42 different countries participating.
Counter-terror analysts watched closely for homeland threats from al-Qaeda or the Islamic State group. In 2012, a September 11 attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens.
FBI chief James Comey said there were “not any specific or credible threats” this year, but that authorities were on alert.
The families of 11 of those who lost their lives marked the anniversary of the terror attacks in a subdued gathering at ground zero, saying their determination to commemorate their loss publicly had not dimmed over the years.
Elena Lazar who lost her son, Eugene Gabriel Lazar, in the 9/11 attacks, is comforted by her son's then girlfriend Siu Chong on September 11, 2015 in New York City. Source: AFP
Hundreds of victims’ relatives — but fewer than thronged the observances in their early years — gathered for what has become a tradition of tolling bells, moments of silence and the reading of the names of those killed in the terror strikes.
“We come every year. The crowds get smaller, but we want to be here. As long as I’m breathing, I’ll be here,” said Tom Acquaviva, 81, whose son, systems analyst Paul Acquaviva, was killed at his workplace in the trade center’s north tower.
Carrying photos emblazoned with the names of their loved ones, victims’ relatives prayed for peace, praised first responders and the armed forces and sent personal messages of enduring loss and remembrance to loved ones some had never even had the chance to know.
“I wish I could meet you,” Valerie Arnold said of her uncle, firefighter Michael Boyle, who was off-duty but responded to the 9/11 attacks, before she was born.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Billy Joel joined first responders on a memorial motorcycle ride through Manhattan, marking marked the same route Rescue 1 firefighters from the FDNY took to Ground Zero.
Vice President Joseph Biden also joined Governor Cuomo and Joel before the ride for a ceremony at the Rescue 1 firehouse.
The Manhattan ride was the final leg of a journey that stretched from Albany for those participating. First responders from throughout New York rode in the procession.
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