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The plane in Shannon Pat Flynn

Gardaí satisfied there was no threat to plane with 'bomb note' in bathroom

Passengers on the aircraft diverted to Shannon were asked to provide handwriting samples as part of the investigation.

GARDAÍ HAVE CONFIRMED they are satisfied there was no threat to an aircraft that diverted to Shannon Airport yesterday because of a reported bomb threat.

The crew of United Airlines flight 971 declared an emergency over the Atlantic and turned around before landing at Shannon.

The crew spent about 20 minutes dumping aviation fuel over the sea to ensure they touched down within safe landing weight limits.

The crew reported they had a possible ‘security issue’ on board and wished to land at Shannon.

It’s understood that a note, written on a surface in a toilet, suggested there was a bomb on board.

There were 214 passengers and crew on board the Chicago-bound aircraft which had left Rome just three hours earlier.

The Boeing 767 jet landed safely at 1.42pm and was escorted to a remote taxiway and met by airport police and Gardaí.

Passengers were requested to provide handwriting samples as part of the investigation while all passengers and crew members were interviewed by Gardaí.

The flight was later cancelled.

Passengers were provided with refreshments during their time in the airport before being sent to hotels for the night.

They will continue to their destination this afternoon.

While the passengers and their hand luggage underwent additional security screening, any baggage in the cargo hold could not be checked until the flight’s actual travel time had elapsed. This is a normal procedure for such security alerts.

A Garda spokesman said:

We are satisfied there was no threat to the aircraft. All the passengers and crew were interviewed and will continue their journey at 3pm today.

There have been a number of similar incidents at Shannon Airport in the past. The most recent was in January 2016 when Turkish Airlines flight 34 was forced to divert to Shannon following a bomb threat.

The crew became aware of the threat after a written note was discovered on board.

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    Mute Barry Curtin
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    Jun 12th 2018, 1:43 PM

    Someone with a warped sense if humour. How do handwriting samples work conclusively? Those responsible can simply exaggerate their handwriting surely?

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    Mute Before its too late
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    Jun 12th 2018, 1:54 PM

    @Barry Curtin: Think about it , as soon as you touch the piece of paper or pen , you have given away a lot more information about yourself than just your handwriting .

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    Mute techman
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    Jun 12th 2018, 6:02 PM

    @Barry Curtin: should be easy to catch. Then slap the costs of fuel accommodation etc and bar from flying until it’s paid. People like this need to have their passport stamped UNFIT TO FLY

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    Mute Gareth
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    Jun 12th 2018, 6:12 PM

    @Before its too late: you’re watching too many films pal

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    Mute Before its too late
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    Jun 12th 2018, 7:30 PM

    @Gareth: I’m not getting out enough , that’s for sure .

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    Mute Karl
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    Jun 13th 2018, 12:20 PM

    @Barry Curtin: Yes but usually not that much without it being obvious thats what you are doing

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    Mute Chipstix
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    Jun 12th 2018, 1:41 PM

    some waster did that. Dumping fuel into ocean killing marine life…all for a joke …

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    Mute Cian O Donoghue
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    Jun 12th 2018, 1:47 PM

    @Chipstix: It evapourates before it hits the ground. But yeah, still, idiots.

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    Mute Dave Byrne
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    Jun 12th 2018, 1:50 PM

    @Chipstix: Jet A1 when dumped evaporates it doesn’t hit the ocean or landfall.

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    Mute Paul Furey
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    Jun 12th 2018, 2:49 PM

    @Chipstix: hard luck! Better Google first type later.

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    Mute Karl
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    Jun 13th 2018, 12:20 PM

    @Paul Furey: It doesnt just vanish though, its still absorbed into the ecosystem

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    Mute Fiona Fitzgerald
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    Jun 12th 2018, 2:13 PM

    Hope those delayed enjoyed their brief visit to Ireland anyway.

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    Mute Sorcha Hendry instagram: @SorchaHendry86
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    Jun 12th 2018, 1:46 PM

    It worries me that some weirdo did this for a joke

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    Mute Eric Byrne
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    Jun 12th 2018, 2:11 PM

    Why couldn’t they check the cargo until after the duration of the flight had passed? Some sort of time lock?

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    Mute Fiona Fitzgerald
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    Jun 12th 2018, 2:24 PM

    It doesn’t seem to make sense, there must be a reason – maybe they had to wait for the bomb squad to check it over? Or for the suspected messer to speak up. Weird, though. Why not say that he or she didn’t want to go to Chicago instead of paying for a flight and holding everyone else up? I was on a plane in Manchester once where a couple weren’t well and were helped off the flight. We had to wait only twenty minutes while they found their baggage and pulled that out of the hold to go with them. That at least was reasonable and didn’t hold us up much.

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    Mute Brian Lilly
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    Jun 12th 2018, 2:25 PM

    @Eric Byrne: I’m guessing it’s because of a potential bomb with a timer on it.

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    Mute Cian O Donoghue
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    Jun 12th 2018, 2:31 PM

    @Brian Lilly: Bingo.

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    Mute Gerry Ivie
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    Jun 12th 2018, 4:15 PM

    @Eric Byrne: Maybe its to rule out the possibility of a timebomb in the luggage set to have exploded when they landed in Chicago?…

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    Mute Karl
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    Jun 13th 2018, 12:22 PM

    @Fiona Fitzgerald: Are you using the proceedure for an ill passenger to gauge how the police should deal with a bomb threat?

    If there was a bomb onboard, do you really expect the police to go in and start searching through the luggage thus risking their own deaths?

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