Anchorage airport reopens after false report of bomb on cargo plane

Tribune Content Agency

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A report of a bomb on a cargo flight bound for Asia prompted its diversion to Anchorage on Saturday morning, briefly closing Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport.

No explosive device was found on the plane, FBI Special Agent Steve Forrest with the Anchorage Field Office said in a statement.

The China Air cargo plane was diverted to Anchorage’s international airport after taking off from Seattle. It was headed to Taipei, Taiwan, Forrest said.

The threat was called into the Port of Seattle, Forrest said, and investigators are still trying to discern the source of the threat.

“The FBI does not believe there is any continuing threat to our community as a result of this incident,” Forrest said.

The airport had briefly closed to inbound flights during the incident.

The plane was “searched in a secure, remote section of the airport,” according to a Facebook post from the airport.

Officers from the FBI and the Anchorage Police Department were on scene Saturday morning, the airport said.

Flights that were set to arrive at Anchorage’s international airport during the closure could have chosen to divert to Fairbanks International Airport instead.

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