A JetBlue flight was reportedly surrounded by armed police after its pilots lost contact with air traffic control at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City.
The major security scare occurred on June 26 at around 8 p.m. when Flight 1623, which was scheduled to depart for Los Angeles at 7:30 p.m., became unresponsive before takeoff, Fox reported.
Passengers on the flight took to social media to describe the moment when “heavily armed” police boarded the plane to investigate the security incident.
I am on a Jet Blue flight at JFK that lost its communications. Created a security crisis. 10 heavily armed cops boarded plane and just left. After 1.5 hours on runway being towed back to gate. Wow.
— Tony Schwartz (@tonyschwartz) June 27, 2018
Photos showed passengers with their hands above their heads as authorities stormed through the Airbus A320.
Woah. My worst nightmare. @Delta JFK to LAX right now, honestly thought we were going to die. I AM ALIVE THANK GOSH I MEDITATE U GUYS what is going on ?? pic.twitter.com/6RVxy9HC4t
— Alexa Curtis (@Alexa_Curtis) June 27, 2018
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released a statement about the incident, explaining that the incident was caused by a “radio equipment problem.”
“JetBlue 1623, an Airbus A320, experienced a radio equipment problem while taxing for departure at John F. Kennedy International Airport tonight at 8 p.m. The crew requested to return to the ramp. The FAA will investigate.”
FAA STATEMENT: @JetBlue 1623, an Airbus A320 aircraft experienced a radio problem while taxiing for departure at @JFKairport at about 8 pm today. The crew asked to return to the terminal. The #FAA will investigate.
— The FAA (@FAANews) June 27, 2018
According to New York Daily News citing sources, the pilot had entered a hijack alert by mistake which triggered a Port Authority Police Emergency Services unit response.
“There was a false alarm sent to tower as a result of a radio communications failure,” Port Authority spokeswoman Lenis Rodrigues said on June 27, reported the news website.
“[The] aircraft was inspected and cleared with no security threat.”
At one point, the pilot held up a piece of paper with his cell phone number so police could call him.
The security scare was cleared in about an hour and the plane returned to the gate without incident.
Video Credit: JEEPVader via Storyful
Watch Next:
