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[cameron]

The Guardian:

An Air France plane on its way to Paris was forced to make an emergency landing in Mombasa after a suspicious device, which the Kenyan Airport Authority said was a bomb, was found in the jet’s lavatory.

Flight AF463, with 459 passengers and 14 crew members on board, had left Mauritius at 9pm local time on Saturday and was due to arrive in Paris Charles de Gaulle at 5.50am local time.

After the suspicious device was discovered, the plane landed at Moi international airport in Mombasa before 1am local time.

Air France and the Kenyan police both said investigators were working to confirm whether the package was a bomb.

CBC:

A Kenyan police official says six passengers are being questioned over a suspected bomb found on an Air France plane that forced the jet flying to Paris from Mauritius to make an emergency landing in Kenya.

The police official, who insisted on anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media, said during the flight a passenger noticed something in a lavatory that looked like "a stopwatch mounted on a box."

The passenger reported the device to the cabin crew, who informed the pilots, leading to an emergency landing at the airport in the Kenyan city of Mombasa.

The official said one of those being interrogated is the man who reported the package.

Bomb experts are inspecting the device to see if it was an explosive, he said.

Flight 463 is Air France's third plane to be diverted in recent weeks.

Two other Air France flights from the U.S. to Paris were diverted on Nov. 18 after bomb threats were received but no bombs were found on the planes from Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.

Update: Confirmed fake bomb. BBC: "Fake bomb forces Air France flight to make Kenya emergency landing"

An emergency landing of an Air France flight from Mauritius to Paris in Kenya was caused by a false bomb alert, the airline's chief says.

Frederic Gagey said the suspect item was made of paper and a timer.

The Boeing 777 landed at Moi International Airport in Mombasa. The aircraft and airport were evacuated.

Mr Gagey said this was not a "bad joke", but an "extremely aggressive act" - the fourth false alarm since the deadly 13 November attacks in Paris.

Mr Gagey told journalists that the device appeared to be made of a carton, sheets of paper and some sort of kitchen timer, and placed behind a mirror in a toilet.

He said the device contained no explosives, so it would not have been detected during pre-flight security checks in Mauritius, and passengers and crew had not been at risk.

He thanked the crew and the Kenyan authorities for the way they had handled the incident.

A police official quoted by AP news agency said a passenger had noticed an object in the toilet that looked like "a stopwatch mounted on a box".

Mr Gagey said the crew was alerted, and the pilots informed. The pilots decided to land at the nearest airport.

 

[RumblingRosco]

Well, if it is a bomb, I'm glad the plane has already landed and the suspects are being interrogated. Maybe we'll learn something valuable from this.

 

[TheSeks]

Bomb wasn't discovered in the 4 hours the flight was happening?

Unless I'm misreading those "local times" in the article. That'd be 9P-1A on the same time-zone. Nobody noticed anything suspicious in the bathroom during that time?

 

[Sec0nd]

The information that's being spread is a bit confusing. I had read that the airline confirmed that it was indeed a bomb that was found on the plane. But now reports say that it was a fake bomb according to AFP.

Dutch source: http://nos.nl/artikel/2076350-kenia-trekt-melding-over-bom-in-air-france-toestel-in.html

 

[CadetMahoney]

If they're now saying fake bomb what would be the motive on such hoaxes? I don't see how this benefits terrorists.

 

[Stinkles]

If they're now saying fake bomb what would be the motive on such hoaxes? I don't see how this benefits terrorists.

They're "interviewing" the guy who reported it. Occam's razor says attention whore/nutcase. "I saved the flight by spotting the device I myself planted."

 

[Ceres]

If they're now saying fake bomb what would be the motive on such hoaxes? I don't see how this benefits terrorists.

Not necessary a terrorist but could also be the person who reported it is the one who planted it as they want to be a hero.
Kind of like some of those (usually volunteer) firefighters who end up starting fires so they can be the first on scene to save the day.

 

[cameron]

The information that's being spread is a bit confusing. I had read that the airline confirmed that it was indeed a bomb that was found on the plane. But now reports say that it was a fake bomb according to AFP.

Dutch source: http://nos.nl/artikel/2076350-kenia-trekt-melding-over-bom-in-air-france-toestel-in.html

It does appear to be a hoax.

AP:

The authority now says the Air France Boeing 777 made an emergency landing in Mombasa due to "a suspicious object." Earlier Sunday, the post said security forces had foiled "a bombing attempt."

The updated Facebook post indicated questions about whether the device, described by a security official as a box with a timer on top, was some kind of hoax.

The police official said the box has been taken apart and no explosives have been found but the digital watch has not yet been analyzed.

 

[ElTorro]

If true, what kind of sick person would make a hoax like that...

 

[cameron]

Confirmed fake bomb. BBC: "Fake bomb forces Air France flight to make Kenya emergency landing"

An emergency landing of an Air France flight from Mauritius to Paris in Kenya was caused by a false bomb alert, the airline's chief says.

Frederic Gagey said the suspect item was made of paper and a timer.

The Boeing 777 landed at Moi International Airport in Mombasa. The aircraft and airport were evacuated.

Mr Gagey said this was not a "bad joke", but an "extremely aggressive act" - the fourth false alarm since the deadly 13 November attacks in Paris.

Mr Gagey told journalists that the device appeared to be made of a carton, sheets of paper and some sort of kitchen timer, and placed behind a mirror in a toilet.

He said the device contained no explosives, so it would not have been detected during pre-flight security checks in Mauritius, and passengers and crew had not been at risk.

He thanked the crew and the Kenyan authorities for the way they had handled the incident.

A police official quoted by AP news agency said a passenger had noticed an object in the toilet that looked like "a stopwatch mounted on a box".

Mr Gagey said the crew was alerted, and the pilots informed. The pilots decided to land at the nearest airport.

I hope the person responsible gets fucked.

 

[Foffy]

If true, what kind of sick person would make a hoax like that...

Someone who wants to prevent the French language from spreading?

 

[DECK'ARD]

Someone who wants to prevent the French language from spreading?

Very good.