WASHINGTON, Nov 9: F-16 fighter jets scrambled in Florida and Utah to escort down two private aircraft in separate incidents on Thursday that sparked fears of more terrorist strikes .
In Florida, authorities reportedly monitored a radio threat to blow up Orlando International Airport, the air hub for theme parks including Disneyland, according to WKMG Local 6 News.
Two Air Force jets then forced down a single-engine plane flown by an Angolan student pilot, who was handcuffed and questioned by FBI agents at the Ocala regional airport.
Local schools were locked down for about 20 minutes while the airplane was being escorted to the airport Thursday. FBI agents and a hazmat team went to the airport, and bomb-sniffing dogs searched the plane but found no suspicious devices, the report said.
In a separate incident over Salt Lake City, two F-16s escorted back a small plane that had lost radio contact with air traffic control after takeoff, reports said.
The Gulfstream jet carrying NBC television executives was then guided to a nearby airport. The plane took off again hours later after the radio was repaired and arrived in New York early Thursday.—dpa
