Threat forces plane to Iceland

Associated Press

ORLANDO, Fla. — Passengers flying from Britain to Florida aboard a Virgin Atlantic Airways flight said Sunday they were asked to give handwriting samples after a bomb threat scrawled on a bathroom mirror diverted them to Iceland.

Police found no explosives on the Boeing 747 and concluded that the threat had been a hoax, said Jonas Jonasson, police section leader in Keflavik, 30 miles southwest of Reykjavik, Iceland’s capital.

Jonasson said questioning of the passengers and crew had not turned up any information on the source of the threat. Two police officers were put on board the flight. He said passengers would be questioned by U.S. authorities in Florida, where they arrived Sunday afternoon.

Keflavik Police Commissioner Johann Benediktsson has said the threat was written in soap on a mirror in a plane toilet.

"It contained the phrase ‘all Americans must die’ and other anti-American sentiment," he said.

"The most nerve-racking part was when the captain told us there was a threat against the aircraft and we had to sweat it out 90 minutes as we flew back to Iceland," said Steve Wilkins, a 38-year-old passenger from Sarasota.

Wilkins said the plane was met in Iceland with armed security and passengers were taken to a hangar by buses. After they were patted down and their bags were searched, each passenger was asked for a handwriting sample.

The phrase to be analyzed: "Ask Karl the question. Are Amerikans really happy?" Some passengers said they were asked to write the phrase with the correct spelling for "Americans."

Several passengers said they were nervous on the return flight to Florida because they suspected that the offender was still on the plane.

"Everyone was absolutely petrified, but everyone was also very calm," said Allyson Smith, a 37-year-old tour operator from London. "When we got on the flight today it was a bit daunting knowing that person was aboard."

Copyright ©2002 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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