Shadowed by an RAF Typhoon jet bristling with weaponry, this is the moment terror was brought to Britain’s skies when an airline passenger claimed there was a bomb on the plane. After the Airbus pilot notified air traffic control of the threat, the fighter – part of the RAF’s Quick Reaction Alert force – was scrambled to tail the flight as it made its approach to Manchester.
The airport was shut down and other incoming flights diverted as the police and military initiated full-scale emergency plans that could lead to the shooting down of an airliner that posed a terrorist threat.
Officially the Ministry of Defence refuses to discuss the action open to fighter pilots or who would give the orders, saying it is classified information.
Dramatic photos showed the Typhoon jet accompanying the Qatar Airways flight – carrying 269 passengers and 13 crew – as it made its descent. After it landed safely and taxied to a remote part of the runway armed police boarded to arrest a 47-year-old man. They were soon able to confirm that the threat was a hoax.
The incident happened shortly before 1pm today as the flight from Doha came in to land. Sources said cabin crews on the flight were passed a scribbled note by a passenger who appeared sober and coherent. It read: ‘There is a bomb on board this plane.’
The source said: ‘It quickly became clear we were not dealing with an international terrorist here but a prize idiot.
