An Austrian Airlines flight traveling from Israel made an emergency landing in Bulgaria on Oct. 18 after a reported “threat,” the airline said.
The flight, OS82, was traveling from Tel Aviv to Vienna when a threat was made against the aircraft, prompting it to divert to the Bulgarian capital of Sofia, an airline spokesperson told USA TODAY. The aircraft, identified as an Airbus A320, landed safely in Sofia at 8:42 p.m. CEST.
“We can confirm that a threat was made against flight OS82 from Tel Aviv to Vienna (TLV to VIE), which necessitated a stopover in Sofia (SOF),” the spokesperson said in a statement. “The aircraft in question … is now being searched.”
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There were 51 passengers and six crew members on board, according to the spokesperson. Passengers will be rebooked on an alternative flight after the aircraft search is completed.
“The safety of our passengers and crew is always our top priority,” the spokesperson added.
Bulgaria’s Ministry of Transport and Communications said the flight made the emergency landing after a “bomb threat signal,” Sky News reported. A Bulgarian Air Force fighter jet escorted the aircraft to Sofia, and passengers disembarked after landing.
The incident came just weeks after a Flydubai copilot allegedly attacked the flight’s captain with a crash ax in an apparent attempt to bring down a plane carrying 170 passengers from Dubai to Tel Aviv.
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The aircraft plunged thousands of feet before the attacker was subdued, authorities said. Two other pilots who were aboard the flight helped land the plane safely, and the suspected attacker, an Omani national, was later transferred to the United Arab Emirates as part of an international investigation.
Multiple U.S. officials briefed on the investigation, NBC News reported, say early indications are the suspect acted alone, not as part of a larger organization or in coordination with Iran or a different foreign actor. Reuters, citing sources briefed on the UAE investigation, reported the suspect planned to crash the hijacked plane into Ben-Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv.
Contributing: Joey Garrison, USA TODAY; Reuters
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Austrian Airlines says flight from Israel diverted after ‘threat’
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