Panic on a flight before takeoff after exchanging horrific scenes of a plane crash

On Tuesday, Israel arrested nine people after they exchanged pictures of a plane crash with other passengers on their mobile phones, causing panic and delaying a flight to Istanbul.

The Israel Airports Authority said that the accident occurred shortly before the departure of an Anadolu Jet passenger plane from Ben Gurion Airport near the coastal Tel Aviv.

According to the police, "the nine people are suspected of exchanging photos and videos of an air disaster while they were on the plane, which caused a state of panic."

The statement indicated that "the nine suspects were interrogated by the police," stressing that the incident amounted to a "terrorist threat."

The Airports Authority stated that the suspects were removed from the plane prior to its departure after a delay of four hours.

According to a spokesman for the authority, Ofer Levler, the suspects "used Apple's (Airdrop) program that allows them to share images via surrounding phones."

Apple specializes in an "Airdrop" feature that allows iPhone users to wirelessly share files with people nearby.

Tuesday's incident comes after another similar incident that occurred at the same airport weeks ago.

On April 28, airport security found an unexploded ordnance among the belongings of an American family, which they received as a souvenir while on vacation in Israel.

The incident caused panic among the passengers who were in the departure hall.

Videos circulated on social media showed the passengers running in all directions to hide, before the family was allowed to board the plane.

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