Brazil: Air France jet makes emergency landing after bomb threat; all aboard safe

Brazil: Air France jet lands after bomb threat

RIO DE JANEIRO — An Air France passenger jet headed from Rio to Paris made an emergency landing in northeastern Brazil Saturday night due to a bomb threat.

All 405 passengers and 18 crew members were safely evacuated from Air France Flight 443, said Jorge Andrade, a spokesman for airport authority Infraero.

Recife international airport was closed for about 30 minutes but reopened after officials isolated the jet, he added.

Solange Argenta, an Infraero spokeswoman at the Recife airport, said authorities were examining the jet to determine if the threat was real.

“They’re still inspecting the aircraft. It is possible that it could be cleared and resume its flight tonight,” Argenta said.

Argenta said the threat was phoned in to the Rio airport after the flight took off at 4:20 p.m. (3:20 p.m. EDT; 1920 GMT). The plane landed in Recife at 7:53 p.m. (6:53 p.m. EDT; 2253 GMT).

Flight 443 was on the same route as an Air France jet that crashed last June off Brazil’s northeastern coast, killing all 228 on board. While no definite cause has been determined in the crash, authorities have repeatedly ruled out foul play.