Jewish Prayer Phylacteries Lead To Bomb Scare On US Flight

The Jerusalem Post reports that "a teenage airplane passenger using an Orthodox Jewish prayer instrument caused a misunderstanding that led the captain to divert the Kentucky-bound plane to Philadelphia and prompted a visit from a bomb squad. A 17-year-old boy on US Airways Express Flight 3079 traveling from New York to Louisville was using tefillin, a set of black boxes attached to leather straps and containing biblical passages, Philadelphia police Lt. Frank Vanore on Thursday. When used in prayer, one box is strapped to the arm while the other box is placed on the head. 'It's something that the average person is not going to see very often, if ever,' FBI spokesman J.J. Klaver said. The teen explained the ritual after being questioned by crew members, but the captain decided to land in Philadelphia anyway, authorities said... Authorities said the plane was searched and passengers were questioned. The teen - who hails from White Plains, just north of New York City - was traveling with his 16-year-old sister." Tweet