Turkish flight aborted in Israel after passengers receive plane crash photos

A Turkish AnadoluJet flight was aborted upon take-off at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport after several passengers were sent photos of plane crashes on their phones.

The Israeli Civil Aviation Authority said the plane was taxiing at the country’s main airport when the photos were sent.

Luggage was re-inspected after passengers were removed. The flight departed five hours later.

Israeli authorities identified several young nationals who have been detained and are being questioned.

The flight, which had 160 passengers on board, was heading toward the runway when passengers informed crew that they had received the photos.

Local news outlets said the photos were shared via AirDrop, which allows images and other media forms to be transmitted at short distances from one Apple device to another.

Passengers received photos of a Turkish Airlines plane that crashed in the Netherlands in 2009, and a Turkish Airlines crash in the US in 2013.

After disembarking, passengers were told they could stay in Israel or board the flight to Turkey.

This is the second security scare at Ben Gurion in recent weeks after an American family brought a live artillery shell to the airport, sparking widespread panic as people rushed to flee the terminal.