A flight headed to Turkey was delayed at Ben-Gurion International Airport on Tuesday after passengers received images of a plane crash on their phones as their plane was headed toward the runway. Nine suspects were arrested, and authorities believe they managed to spread the photos using the AirDrop service on iPhones, which allows easy transmission of files from one device to another.
The incident, on the AndoluJet flight that had been due to take off for Istanbul, was not a cyberattack over the Internet, Ofer Lefler, spokesman for the Israel Airports Authority, said. The passengers immediately alerted the flight crew, who decided to return to the terminal and report the incident.
The nine suspects, described by police as Israeli citizens and among the passengers, were removed and could be prosecuted for disseminating false information, the authority said. The offense carries a maximum three-year prison term in Israel.
"I am sure the police and the security authorities will find out why they (the suspects) did it," Lefler told Channel 12 News.
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"The plane started to move and suddenly everyone got requests in AirDrop," one passenger told Israel Hayom, referring to the program available on Apple devices that can transfer files among supported devices. "My friend and I did not accept it, but those who did got a picture of an exploding plane next to the photo of our plane.
"The crew disregarded the matter initially until one of the passengers called the police. They stopped the plane, announced that it was a security incident, and took out all the luggage, which is being reinspected now. One person on the plane fainted, and someone else had a panic attack."
The plane took off hours late after a security check of the plane, luggage and those onboard, Lefler said.
AirDrop allows an iPhone user to send out images to other devices in the vicinity, if they are set to accept such input.
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