No bomb found after plane evacuated at JFK Airport over threat

By RYAN GORMAN

An American Airlines plane at JFK International Airport was evacuated Sunday afternoon because of a bomb threat, but authorities found no explosives on the plane.

The flight from Barcelona was held on the tarmac away from the terminals until Port Authority Police were able to investigate the claim and de-plane the passengers, according to passengers. Officials announced hours later that the plane was cleared.

Fire officials first reported the bomb threat on Twitter at 12:15 p.m. FDNY personnel were called to the scene at 12:04 p.m., a spokesperson told AOL News. The threat was made over the phone, according to multiple reports.

The Boeing 767 was surrounded by police who slowly allowed the passengers to evacuate via air stairs, images from the scene showed.

Passengers were then held in a grassy area away from the runway before being bussed to the terminal, according to passenger tweets. Investigators and bomb sniffing dogs then searched the aircraft for evidence of a bomb but found nothing.

The flight landed at 12:01 p.m., in New York, about 30 minutes ahead of schedule, according to FlightAware.

A message left with Port Authority Police seeking further details has yet to be returned.

This is a developing story, more information will come as it is made available.

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