Turkish Flight from Texas Diverted to Ireland After Bomb Scare

A Turkish Airlines flight departing from Houston was diverted to Ireland after a bomb scare note was found on the plane while en route to Istanbul, Turkey. After several hours, the aircraft was allowed to continue on its flight when no explosives were found.

Turkish Airlines Flight 34 left Houston Saturday night from George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. During the flight a note with the word “bomb” was found on the aircraft, according to KTRK ABC13 in Houston. The aircraft is a Boeing 777 and was flying non-stop from Houston to Istanbul.

Police met the aircraft when it landed at Shannon Airport in Ireland. A bomb disposal unit conducted a search of the aircraft and no bomb was found.

The flight was traveling with 207 passengers and two infants, according to a statement from the airlines. Click2Houston reported the airline released a statement saying that all safety and security procedures had been concluded and “it has been understood that it was a false alert.”

Photos: scene at @ShannonAirport after @TurkishAirlines flight #TK34 #bombthreat #airlivenet (pics E. Muslu) pic.twitter.com/1XiPEV5e2y

— The Plane News (@theplanenews) January 24, 2016

The note with the word “bomb” written on it was found in the lavatory, according to a Reuters report on NDTV.com. The report stated that Turkish Airlines has been the victim of several false bomb hoaxes over the past year.

After the security crews completed an extensive sweep of the aircraft, passengers were allowed to re-board the aircraft and the flight continued.

CNN reported that the passengers were questioned and handwriting analysis was performed on the note.

The Independent, a U.K. news outlet, reported Shannon Airport, located on the western coast of Ireland put its emergency plan into place while the aircraft was still two hours out. Ambulances from neighboring communities were brought to the airport in case they were needed. The Irish gardi (police force) responded to the scene and the Irish Coast Guard was put on alert and a Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboat was positioned on standby until the aircraft crossed the coastline.

The jet was detained until the schedule flight duration had expired in case of a time activated device, The Independent stated. Handwriting samples were taken from the passengers and are being compared to the “bomb” note.

Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas and is a member of the original Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX.