Plane from Ireland Makes Emergency Landing in Philadelphia over Security Threat

A plane from Ireland made an emergency landing at the Philadelphia International Airport in the United States on Wednesday because of an unspecified threat, the Associated Press reported.

The AP said federal authorities were at the airport because of an apparent bomb threat.

USAirways Flight 777 from Shannon landed at Philadelphia's airport on Wednesday afternoon.

Law enforcement officials met the plane on the tarmac and passengers exited the jet to waiting buses. FBI spokeswoman Carrie Adamowski said agents were assisting Transportation Security Administration officials in the investigation.

U.S. customs officials have screening facilities at Shannon Airport and the passengers aboard the plane would have gone through them before boarding.

The plane touched down on scheduled around 2 P.M. (1800 GMT) after a seven-hour flight from Shannon, only to be "isolated" at a section of Philadelphia airport, a city police spokeswoman said.

"We were aware of a possible security issue with the flight and out of an abundance of caution taxied the aircraft to a remote location," US Airways added in a statement.

The Boeing 757 was carrying 171 passengers and eight crew members.

Philadelphia's NBC affiliate WCAU, quoting police, said the threat had been received from an "unknown male" and turned out to be "unsubstantiated."

The incident came amid fears of a potential al-Qaida attack which earlier prompted a shutdown of U.S. diplomatic missions in Africa and the Middle East.