Originally Posted by Irish Steve
Keeping the passengers on the aircraft is without doubt putting all concerned under stress, and may be putting them at serious risk, depending on the circumstances.
...
If the passengers then have to be kept in sterile holding until they can be interviewed etc, so be it, but to keep them on the aircraft for the sort of time periods that have been mentioned is unforgivable.
There's security, and there's Insanity, and I know which category the events of the last few days falls in to!
Since ever I can think back, bomb alerts have been treated VERY differently than this, up to the point where the aircraft would leave the runway if practicable but then initiate an evacuation in order to get everyone on board off as expeditiously as possible. If there is only a shadow of a doubt wheter there might be some kaboom device on board, I see this as the only acceptable action if an immediate disembarkation is not possible.
Having said that, I wonder what the crew's and particularly the pic's options are in a case where he is forced to keep pax and crew on board an aircraft which is subject to a bomb scare. Evacuate? Order the disembarkation by authority of the commander of the aircraft? Can the airport authority really denie that?
Catching the low life who has put the threat on the airplane sure has a big priority but not bigger than putting the occupants of the said airplane at risk if a note is not all that the said low life has put on board.
Best regards
AN2 Driver