Regional jet cleared after bomb search in Oklahoma City

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Authorities removed the passengers from a regional jet Monday morning and searched it after an airline employee found threatening words scrawled in the airplane's cargo hold, a

Monday, February 27th 2006, 10:00 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Authorities removed the passengers from a regional jet Monday morning and searched it after an airline employee found threatening words scrawled in the airplane's cargo hold, a spokeswoman for Will Rogers World Airport said. No dangerous devices were found.

An employee for Trans States Airlines, a regional carrier for United Airlines, notified authorities at 7:37 a.m. that ``suspicious and threatening graffiti'' had been found in the belly of the 50-passenger jet, said airport spokeswoman Karen Carney. She did not disclose the exact words in the graffiti. They were written in an area where only authorized personnel should have access, she said.

The passengers were removed from the aircraft and it was towed to a remote section of the airport, where the airplane and the luggage were searched.

There were 44 passengers on the airplane, Flight 5564, which was to fly nonstop to St. Louis.