Israel Arrests Nine Suspects After Plane Crash Photos Spam Passengers' Phones Before Takeoff

On Tuesday, photos were mysteriously sent to Turkish Airlines passengers’ phones via AirDrop, a tool created by Apple for iPhones that allows images to be shared without WiFi or cellular data. Passengers showed the terrifying images while taxiing, causing the plane's pilot to cancel takeoff.
Sputnik
A Turkish airliner with 160 people on board canceled takeoff at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport on Tuesday after chaos erupted moments after passengers were sent plane crash photos to their iPhones via AirDrop.
According to a police spokesperson, the images included a 2009 crash of a Turkish plane in the Netherlands and a 2013 accident in San Francisco, California, as well as footage from inside the plane.
The photos caused mass panic on the AnadoluJet 737. According to one of the passengers, a woman fainted and another had a panic attack.
Nine suspects who police say are all Israeli citizens were dragged off the plane by security and could be charged for disseminating false information, an offense which carries a maximum of three years in prison in Israel.
The flight was destined for Istanbul from Tel Aviv and took off after re-inspection several hours after the delayed takeoff.
Discuss