SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
There were some anxious moments and high drama for a number of Yellowknife-bound passengers Saturday when their Halifax to Edmonton WestJet flight landed in Saskatoon after a bomb threat on Saturday.

Yellowknife resident Dave Zethof was on the plane and described at length to Yellowknifer how it all went down.

"The pilot came on and said we were landing in Saskatoon for operational requirements," Zethof said in an interview Monday. "Twenty minutes and a very fast descent later, we were in the middle of the runway with the plane turned off and fire trucks very far from us. I thought at that point there had been a mechanical problem or perhaps an issue with one of the crew members. Twenty minutes passed and the pilot came on to say that the airport is trying to figure out what to do with us and we will have an update soon."

Another 10 minutes went by and just as WestJet tweeted that it was responding to a bomb threat to flight 391 - the flight Zethof was on - passengers were told they could start getting off the plane, Zethof said.

"The crew had not told the passengers anything at this point. We all got off and loaded onto buses guarded by RCMP and Saskatoon police officers telling us not to pull out our phones and keep our bags visible," he said.

About 30 more minutes passed. The buses, sitting close to the airport fire station, had no air conditioning. The RCMP finally told them why they were there, and drinking water was then brought to all of the

buses, Zethof said.

"We were told that everyone must be identified, questioned and have our bags inspected. Then, we were told that once that was done, additional steps would be taken," he said. "We were then allowed escorted washroom breaks, one male and one female at a time for 150 passengers. Escorted smoke breaks were then allowed as the smokers were getting very irritated."

Eventually the passengers were directed into an airport garage and waited in line to be questioned and searched again, said Zethof.

"They asked me where I was from, what I did for a living and the purpose of my trip. They also asked me if I was handed a package by anyone before boarding the

flight," he said.

"The two interrogations lasted just over five minutes each, I would say. Once that was done we got a yellow wristband clearing us to walk to the airport and get WestJet to figure out where we are going next."

The airline had a table of food waiting when he arrived in the terminal. Zethof said passengers had waited about five hours in total on the ground before being allowed into the Saskatoon airport.

"As far as I know only four of the nine Yellowknife-bound passengers made it to Yellowknife that night. The four of us flew from Saskatoon to Calgary and then to Yellowknife getting in at about 11 p.m.," he said. "It was about an 18-hour day from the time I boarded in Halifax until I was on the ground in Yellowknife. WestJet gave me a total of $350 in credits which I though was pretty cool." Zethof's luggage arrived Sunday night from Calgary.

While it was a long day, Zethof said he at least got a chance to practise using his Twitter account.

"I don't even use Twitter but I started this weekend to give play-by-play as things progressed," Zethof said.

Saskatoon police stated in a news release that no explosive device was found aboard the aircraft. The investigation is continuing and involves both the Saskatoon Airport Authority and the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) as the threat originated in Ontario, Saskatoon police stated.

Media reports indicate the threat may have come from the Owen Sound area in Ontario. There have been no arrests.

Meanwhile, according to news reports, six people were hurt when a WestJet plane en route to Edmonton from Toronto was forced to land in Winnipeg Monday night, again due to a bomb threat. The passengers were hurt during an emergency evacuation. It is not clear whether any Yellowknife-bound passengers were on that flight. No bomb was found.

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