JCC bomb hoaxer also grounded flights with bomb threats

In addition to being suspected of carrying out hoax bomb threats on US Jewish Community Centers, a Jewish teen arrested by Israeli police made threats to airlines, causing Delta flights to change course after receiving a call, sources tell The Times of Israel.

In January 2015 two Delta Air Lines flights arriving at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, one continuing to and one arriving from Tel Aviv, were evacuated following a bomb threat.

An anonymous caller to an unnamed airline reported that a pipe bomb had been placed aboard Delta’s flight 468, according to reports. The airline has two flights with the same number.

One of the flights, a Boeing 777, was waiting to depart from Kennedy Airport at 9:23 p.m. when the call came in. The passengers were evacuated and waited on buses on the tarmac while security officials searched the plane. The luggage also was removed and rescreened. No explosives were found on board.

The second flight, a Boeing 757, arrived at the airport from San Francisco at 8 p.m. and was scheduled to continue on to Tel Aviv. After the passengers disembarked, the plane was searched. No explosives were found.