A JetBlue pilot accidentally sent the wrong radio code informing air traffic control that his plane had been hijacked on Tuesday and this sparked fears at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.
Massive police presence surrounded the JetBlue flight bound for Los Angeles on Tuesday night following the wrong signal. As Port Authority police and firefighters surrounded flight 1623, dramatic video taken inside the plane by terrified passengers shows armed SWAT members storming on board and searching the aircraft as travelers were told to keep their hands in the air.
According to reports, the pilot had apparently told controllers that the aircraft was having radio issues, but mistakenly used the code for a hijacking. Immediately, dozens of officers responded surrounding the plane on the tarmac around 8pm stopping it from getting near the terminal.
The New York Daily News cited a source as saying that at one point the pilot held up a piece of paper with his cell phone number on it so police could call him and find out what happened.
A spokeswoman for JetBlue called the incident a "false alarm".
She said in a statement: "Shortly before departure, Flight 1623 from New York JFK to Los Angeles experienced a radio issue impacting the crew's ability to communicate and a false alarm was sent to JFK tower.
"While communication was reestablished via alternate channels, authorities responded in an abundance of caution. The aircraft was cleared and returned to the gate for inspection."
A Port Authority spokeswoman said the plane "was inspected and cleared with no security threat."
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