The captain of the Turkish airline AnadoluJet interrupted the takeoff of his plane from Israel’s main airport after passengers received photos of the crash on their phones, BBC reported.
Several young Israelis were identified as suspects and interrogated. The plane was five hours late after receiving permission to take off.
An AnadoluJet Boeing 737 carrying 160 passengers was on its way to takeoff when passengers alerted the crew that they had received shocking photos. The captain was informed and decided to return to the terminal, BTA reports.
News site Ynet reported that the photos were shared via AirDrop, an Apple service that allows users to send files from one Apple device to another over short distances. All images were taken from an iPhone, the statement said.
The photographs included images of a Turkish Airlines plane that crashed in the Netherlands in 2009 and another in the US in 2013, Ynet reported.
The passengers were told they could either board the checked plane again for Istanbul or stay in Israel.