Police arrests 9 for ‘AirDrop’ crash images.
A Turkey-bound taxiing plane returned to the gate at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport after photos of aviation disasters popped up on passengers’ phones.
According to reports, 166 passengers received the images via an AirDrop causing mass panic on the AndoluJet flight.
At least one passenger fainted and another reportedly had a panic attack.
Upon the plane returning to the terminal, security personnel boarded the plane to find out who was responsible.
A spokesman for the Israel Airports Authority confirmed the incident was not a cyberattack, and that nine suspects had been arrested by police.
They were described as Israeli citizens and “among the passengers.”
Ofer Lefler, spokesperson for the Israel Airports Authority, is quoted as saying, “I am sure the police and the security authorities will find out why they (the suspects) did it,” adding that the offence could be interpreted as a “terrorist threat”.
According to the IAA, the suspects could also be charged with disseminating false information, an offense that carries a maximum prison term of three years in Israel.
The report echoes a similar incident last year where a teenager caused a plane in San Francisco to be evacuated after sending a photo of an airsoft gun via AirDrop.
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