Airliners searched after phone threats
NEW YORK – A series of anonymous telephone threats against commercial airliners Monday, possibly from the same source, prompted searches of at least two planes at Kennedy Airport and nearly interrupted a third flight from England, authorities said.
Authorities said the threats didn’t appear to be credible and the searches were done as a precaution.
In one instance Monday morning, U.S. military jets escorted an Air France flight into New York City after someone claimed a chemical weapon was aboard the aircraft, the FBI said.
A Saudi Arabian Airlines flight also was being checked out because of another threat, authorities said.
A third threat was made against an American Airlines jet flying from Birmingham, England, to JFK while it was still in the air, said airline spokesman Kent Powell.
Activist ends protest against oil drilling
BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The woman who had been hanging off the anchor chain of a support ship that is part of Royal Dutch Shell’s plans to explore for oil in the Arctic Ocean ended her dayslong protest north of Seattle on Monday morning.
Student activist Chiara D’Angelo requested assistance getting down from her perch on the Arctic Challenger in the Bellingham harbor around 9:30 a.m. Monday, the Coast Guard said.
D’Angelo was checked for hypothermia and then released, Petty Officer 3rd Class Katelyn Shearer said.
She spent the weekend attached to the ship in an environmental protest against Shell’s plans to drill for oil in the Chukchi Sea off northwestern Alaska. The oil company’s proposal also has drawn large protests in Seattle, where a massive, floating drill rig is being prepared for the excursion.
A second protester, Matt Fuller, joined D’Angelo from Saturday morning until Sunday.
Associated Press
