Loads of Kids Now Tweeting Fake Bomb Threats to Airline

And other airline-related Twitter woes
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 15, 2014 7:24 AM CDT
Scads of Kids Now Tweeting Fake Bomb Threats to Airline
In this Thursday, Nov. 21, 2013, file photo, an American Airlines jet takes off from Washington's Ronald Reagan National Airport early in the morning.   (AP Photo/J. David Ake, File)

Thanks to the 14-year-old Dutch girl arrested after tweeting a fake terrorism threat to American Airlines, fake Twitter threats are apparently now a thing. The Washington Post reports that dozens more teens (well, they're assumed to be teens, and many have usernames like "@ddlovatosteddy" and "@MileyFawLife") are picking up where 14-year-old Sarah (who was released today, notes Mashable) left off, and the Post has screenshots of ill-advised tweets, some of which have since been deleted, including:

  • "@AmericanAir I have a bomb under the next plane to take off"
  • "@AmericanAir You really seem to not care that i’m about to bomb your plane that’s headed to Paris. Btw, my name is Ahmed."
  • "@AmericanAir Hello Am From Iraq i Want 1Million Or I Will Plan A Bomb To Your Next Flight To Paris !! Bye Bye America"

Other copycat tweeters have also directed their "jokes" to Southwest Airlines, for some reason. (Southwest told at least one such person that they would be reported to the authorities.) In other unfortunate airline-related Twitter news, someone at US Airways is probably in a lot of trouble today after a very unfortunate incident yesterday. In response to a customer complaining about her flight, US Airways tweeted, "We welcome feedback, Elle. If your travel is complete, you can detail it here for review and follow-up:" But instead of a link to a feedback form, what followed was an extremely graphic image. The airline quickly removed the tweet and apologized, claiming it was unintentional. Apparently the image had been tweeted at US Airways earlier from another Twitter user, and "we captured the tweet to flag it as inappropriate," US Airways said in a statement, according to USA Today. The image was then "inadvertently included" in the airline's tweet. If you really must see it, click here. (More Twitter stories.)

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