Bomb scare on plane from JFK to Morocco

WCBS TV news (New York)

[saquin]

I just saw this on the WCBS local 11pm news here in NY. A plane from JFK to Morocco is being diverted back to JFK (update: it will be landing in Bangor, Maine soon).

A passenger, 26-year-old Zubair Iyas (phonetic spelling) on plane called wife from JFK airport just before takeoff to say he was being held against his will (?), had a bomb to blow up plane. The man is from Chicago and has been missing since Saturday.

Could just be a nutcase, but I'll be watching to see what happens once this plane lands in Maine.

[foreverfree]

Keep us posted.

foreverfree

[saquin]

Just had an update:

Plane is Royal Air Morocco Flight 201.
Due to land in Bangor, ME very soon after being diverted back to US 2 hours into flight.
Pilots have reported that the cabin is secure.

[saquin]

Name of passenger is Zubair Jiz (still phonetic).
Man told wife in phone call that he'd been kidnapped by al Qaeda.

[saquin]

Correction: Plane is Royal Air Maroc (not "Morocco") Flight 201.

[oceanview]

kidnapped? by someone on the plane?

[agent4cia]

more on the background. this guy izs rich and has been missing from chicago since the weekend.

Search continues for missing banker
$5,000 withdrawn, SUV abandoned
By Ben Bradley
February 18, 2004 — A missing investment banker's SUV was found abandoned on Chicago's South Side early Wednesday morning. Chicago police and a private investigator are following several leads in the disappearance of Zubair Ghias, who was last seen on Saturday.

video ABC7 Video Clip

Sources told ABC7 News Ghias was last seen by himself-- withdrawing money from a bank and near his SUV-- which leads police to believe foul play may not be a factor. Nonetheless, his family is concerned.

Earlier Wednesday there were high hopes that credit card charges might lead to the missing man but now, the private investigator working the case said those charges were made before the man disappeared and posted late.

"When I saw the car I was crying to the point that it was unending. I kept telling myself I have to be mindful, I'm expecting," said Jehan Ara Ameen, Ghias' wife.

In three months, Jehan Ara Ameen and her husband, Zubair Ghias, are expecting their first child. But now the young woman is wondering-- and worrying-- about what happened to her husband.

On Saturday, surveillance tape from the couple's Lincoln Park apartment building shows Ghias leaving his home at 11:06 a.m. He told his wife he was going to the office but he never made it there. Forty-five minutes later, Ghias apparently withdrew $5,000 from a Harris Bank branch on the city's South Side.

On Saturday afternoon, Englewood residents reported seeing the Range Rover in their neighborhood. Police found the SUV early Wednesday morning. Witnesses said it showed no signs of being vandalized. There were also no signs of the missing man.

"There are some mysteries here and one of the mysteries is- why would he go to the South Side to cash a check at Harris when there is a Harris bank right down the street from his house? That makes you believe somebody was with him, someone may have forced him to go to the bank," said Ernie Rizzo, private investigator.

Missing persons posters are up at several locations. Ghias' family says it can see no reason why the 27-year-old financially well-off investment banker would run off.

"It's hard to imagine, to think, what's really going on here? There has to be something else involved that we really don't know," said Mohammad Islam, Ghias' brother-in-law.

Ghias works at JP Morgan Chase in the Loop. A corporate spokesperson says he is well-liked and there were no signs of trouble at work.

Every year 7,600 adults are reported missing in the city of Chicago. Some of them, police said, just don't want to be found.

[armymarinemom]

Hmmm, I should go outside with the camera. I live right under the flight path.

[maestro]

just saw this on the WCBS local 11pm news here in NY. A plane from JFK to Morocco is being diverted back to JFK (update: it will be landing in Bangor, Maine soon). A passenger, 26-year-old Zubair Iyas (phonetic spelling) on plane called wife from JFK airport just before takeoff to say he was being held against his will (?), had a bomb to blow up plane. The man is from Chicago and has been missing since Saturday. Could just be a nutcase, but I'll be watching to see what happens once this plane lands in Maine.

Could just be an Almondcase

Nothing here,....just move on....

/sarcasm

[ConservativeMan55]

This thread. Explains it all.

[saquin]

I don't know. It could just be a nut trying to explain his disappearance to his family.

He's from Chicago and has been missing since Saturday.
He bought glue in a Brooklyn store today.
He called his wife from JFK airport tonight to say he was being held against his will, kidnapped by al Qaeda, and had a bomb to blow up a plane.
He then boarded the plane to Morocco.
I guess his family called authorities, and the plane was diverted back to the US 2 hrs into the flight. Due to land in Bangor, Maine soon.
That's all I know so far, and the 11pm news has ended. So probably no more updates unless it turns into more.

[ican'tbelieveit]

You have me going in circles... I am so easily confused.

[COEXERJ145]

The aircraft is most likely a Boeing 767-300.

[Tamzee]

Very strange story...

[armymarinemom]

Still all quite here. I wonder how many planes are with this flight. This should wake up the baby.

[dinok]

Sounds like a B movie

[PureSolace]

Reminds me of the pizza delivery guy bombinbs... where some terrorist (who's still at large) strapped a bomb to a man's neck and forced him to rob a bank. The cops didn't know how to handle the situation when they stopped him, and the bomb went off after everyone just kinda stood around waiting for the bomb squad to get there... Unfortunatly the Pizza deliveryman never had a chance.... And if memory serves correct, this was the SECOND time this gimmic has been used... (but I may be wrong... I hope I am)

[Cultural Jihad]

Royal Air Maroc - AT 201

Operational Flight Information

Airport	FLIGHT INFORMATION	Hour
John F Kennedy Int'l (JFK), New York, NY, USA	ESTIMATED TIME OF DEPARTURE	18:59

Planned Flight Information

Airport	Arriving	Day	Departing	Day	Meal	Elapsed Flying Time
John F Kennedy Int'l (JFK), New York, NY, USA	-	-	19:01	Thursday	Yes	-
Mohamed V (CMN), Casablanca, Morocco	7:00	Friday	-	-	-	6h59min

[dinok]

I am not naive...I kn ow there are freaks that would do such things to people. But I fear for my kids.

I hope this is a hoax...I have not found anything on the major sites.