One Griffith passenger has detailed a terrifying bomb threat hoax on his Regional Express flight ZL477 on Tuesday afternoon.
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He was one of 27 passengers on board a flight to Griffith from Sydney when the plane was searched by police.
A NSW Police spokesman say the potential security threat was de-bunked after a search of the plane revealed nothing suspicious.
A man was removed from the plane and was taken to hospital for assessment.
The Area News can confirm as of Wednesday morning the man has since been admitted into a mental health facility.
...he said he had a text message from this girl saying this guy put a bomb on the plane.
- Griffith passenger on flight ZL477
The Griffith passenger, who wished to remain anonymous, said the man was seated close to him on the plane.
“We were on the plane, on the tarmac going to the runway and then this guy behind me goes to the front and talks to the hostess,” he said.
“They said something I couldn’t hear… and I was thinking, so what’s going on.
“The hostess came and spoke to him, he said he heard there was a bomb on the plane.
“She said who told you this, and he said he had a text message from this girl saying this guy put a bomb on the plane.
“I was like, what, have I misheard? But we kept moving around for 40 minutes. The plane then stopped and police came on and escorted him off.”
A REX spokeswoman explained as a precautionary measure Rex deployed a new aircraft and crew to operate a delayed flight ZL477 from Sydney to Griffith, which re-departed Sydney airport at 9.13pm.
The passengers have since arrived safely despite the delay.
No charges are expected to be laid.
On the same afternoon, a man was arrested and charged in Sydney's Darling Point after a bomb hoax to a freight plane at a Sydney airport.
NSW Police say confusion has occurred between the two incidents however they say they are unrelated.