Codeword could have sparked air scare

AUSTRALIAN authorities said yesterday a misunderstanding may have triggered a flight alert that forced a Los Angeles-bound plane to turn back to Sydney, in one of the country's worst airline scares since the September 11, 2001, attacks.

United Airlines Flight 840, carrying 246 passengers including a senior US diplomat was turned around 90 minutes after take-off yesterday and returned to Sydney after a flight attendant found the letters "BOB" written on an air sickness bag in one of the Boeing 747's toilets.

Flight crews commonly use the letters as an abbreviation for "Bomb On Board", and the captain decided to go back after learning of the find.