Arriving Plane Investigated at DCA

After investigation, no explosives found

A woman whose comments in Dayton, Ohio, about a bomb stopped flights for a time at Reagan National Airport told officials she received a message from God.

The flight and its passengers were isolated at DCA for several hours on Sunday after its arrival, but after a sweep, no explosives were found.  The threat was made at the airport in Dayton.

The woman, who has a history of mental health issues, will undergo a psychological evaluation on Monday.

Dayton airport director Terrence Slaybaugh told the Dayton Daily News that the 54-year-old Shelbyville, Ky., woman indicated God sent her a message, which she told a ticket agent in Dayton.

“She indicated that she had got a message from God and had come to the airport and told the ticket counter agent that the flight had to turn around because there was a bomb on it and people were going to die or something to that effect,” Slaybaugh told the paper. “That’s what started our little adventure.”

Takeoffs and departures at Reagan National halted for 20 minutes on Sunday afternoon while authorities investigated "suspicious activity" on U.S. Airways flight 2596, which had come in from Dayton, Ohio at 1 p.m.

The FBI said that the plane was close to the airport at the time the threat was made, which is why they allowed it to land.  The aircraft is a CR200, carrying 44 passengers and 3 crew members.

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority said that the plane was taxied away from the main runway to a section of the airport where security personnel surrounded the aircraft.  Passengers were allowed to deplane but were held during the investigation.

The FBI, TSA, and other law enforcement agencies all worked together on the operation.  A bomb technician could be seen opening passengers luggage and going through their contents.

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The FBI said that after the investigation and the sweep of the plane's contents, no explosive threat was present.  The plane was declared a little less than four hours after the plane touched down.

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