A trans-Atlantic flight from Manchester, England, was diverted to Maine's Bangor International Airport on Friday after “a suspicious telephone conversation,” NBC News. reported.
The Federal Aviation Administration said American Airlines Flight 55, a Boeing 763 en route to Chicago, was diverted for security reasons. The FAA’s New England regional spokeswoman, Arlene Murray, declined to elaborate. NBC News said that a person in the Manchester airport reported hearing a conversation that caused concern.
Police confirmed that there was an incident at the airport but provided no details. Federal immigration agents were headed to the airport.
The jetliner was on the tarmac with its engines shut off, and the local bomb squad was called to the scene.
The Bangor airport, with uncluttered skies and one of the longest runways on the East Coast, is a popular place for international flights in distress to touch down.
Bangor is the first large U.S. airport for incoming European flights and the last U.S. airport for flights headed in the opposite direction.