May 15th, 2010
08:09 PM ET

Fighter jets escort plane over 'potential threat'

[Update 9:38 p.m. ET] The security issue was a bomb threat that had been called in at 10:43 a.m. (1:43 p.m. ET), Cpl. Sherrdean Turley of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police told reporters outside the airport.

Read the full CNN.com story

[Update 8:28 p.m. ET] The plane, which was coming from Hong Kong, landed safely in Vancouver at 1:35 p.m. PT (4:35 p.m. ET), said Alisa Gloag, a spokeswoman for the Vancouver Airport Authority.

Passengers were deplaned and the aircraft was being towed to another area for inspection, said Gloag, who did not have information about how the threat was reported.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is investigating, Gloag said.

[Posted 8:09 p.m. ET] Two CF-18 Hornets were scrambled from a Canadian military base Saturday to escort a Cathay Pacific Airways flight into Vancouver's airport, according to an official with the North American Aerospace Defense Command.

The action was taken in response to a "potential threat" to the flight, Maj. Holly Apostoliuk of NORAD told CNN.

The plane was escorted to the airport and directed to a restricted area.

No further details were immediately available.

- CNN's Greg Morrison and Nick Valencia contributed to this report.

 Post by:
Filed under: Air travel • Canada
soundoff (140 Responses)
  1. thez nutz

    they have planes up there.. sound like the end of bobsledz..

    May 15, 2010 at 8:28 pm | Report abuse |
  2. dont crack

    speak of scrabblen.
    how about them eggs. EH?

    May 15, 2010 at 8:30 pm | Report abuse |
  3. just sayin..

    just called to my Canadian friend about this.
    guess his igloo doesn't have wifi...

    May 15, 2010 at 8:34 pm | Report abuse |
  4. mc

    Scrambled eggs and Canadian bacon please.

    May 15, 2010 at 8:34 pm | Report abuse |
  5. Rob

    Someone must have stayed in the bathroom too long again.

    May 15, 2010 at 8:35 pm | Report abuse |
  6. Educated

    There are NO CF-18 Hornets based out of Winnipeg. These Jets came out of western Canada somewhere.

    May 15, 2010 at 8:36 pm | Report abuse |
  7. Clifford in New York

    The Canadians know how to handle these situations,in the states we would have to make sure that we don't affend anyone first!

    May 15, 2010 at 8:36 pm | Report abuse |
  8. invester from the north.

    wonder if this could have a negative impact on pelt trading ......
    good thing my portfolio is diversified.

    May 15, 2010 at 8:37 pm | Report abuse |
  9. lib4aclu

    Wow. It is so good to be able to post. CNN blocked me from posting on their website because I referred to a poster as a moron for committing libel by posting that Ellana Kagan is a lesbian. I am a political prisoner of the internet as a U.S. citizen. Maybe I will move to Canada if ya'll will have me. If Sarah Palin is elected president in a couple of years, I will be BEGGING you at your border to let me in.

    May 15, 2010 at 8:38 pm | Report abuse |
  10. Pat

    "WOW", Im from Vancouver, and this will turn out to be nothing....nice try CNN & FOX,...Allmost had a live one,...maybe next time...

    May 15, 2010 at 8:39 pm | Report abuse |
  11. james

    Leave the Canadians alone...theyre some of the cooler people on this side of the Earth.

    May 15, 2010 at 8:40 pm | Report abuse |
  12. kevin

    did they really scramble the jets from winnipeg? can someone...anyone...please clear this up? LOL

    May 15, 2010 at 8:41 pm | Report abuse |
  13. bacon

    You can see Canada from Alaska.

    May 15, 2010 at 8:41 pm | Report abuse |
  14. bacon

    No, they scrambled the eggs from Comox. The eggs from Winnipeg were sunny side up.

    May 15, 2010 at 8:42 pm | Report abuse |
  15. Radar

    Where is Canada? How do planes fly in the cold snowy air? Are we alone?

    May 15, 2010 at 8:43 pm | Report abuse |
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
« Back to main