Flight carrying SOE President diverted due to bomb scare

Earlier today, American Airlines flight 362 was diverted to Phoenix Sky from its original destination due to a bomb threat tweet by a hacker group that assumed responsibility for the DDoS (distributed denial of service) attack on Sony’s PlayStation Network. One of the passengers on the plane, who tweeted “All is well” after authorities made their investigation, was the President of Sony Online Entertainment, Mr. John Smedley.

All is well

— John Smedley (@j_smedley) August 24, 2014

https://twitter.com/LizardSquad/statuses/503595025301635073

In a statement to Game Informer, the FBI said “Today AA Flight 362 traveling from Dallas to San Diego was diverted to Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. The flight landed without incident. Passengers were safely removed from the plane. The investigation is still ongoing.”

Other tweets sent to Smedley show a picture of an e-ticket for the flight he was in, as well as other images.

But the origins of the problem may have started with Lizard Squad’s lack of satisfaction with PlayStation Plus.

https://twitter.com/LizardSquad/status/503537290186993665

What seems to be unclear is if the hackers really had something to do with the network problems at Sony.

Sony has recently stated the PlayStation Network “is returning” and that “there are still some continuing issues with PS4 Network access.”

Sony Network Ent. has reported that PSN service is returning, but you may experience slowness or login issues as the network stabilizes.

— Ask PlayStation (@AskPlayStation) August 25, 2014

We are aware that there are still some continuing issues with PS4 Network access. Thanks for your continued patience as we look into it.

— Ask PlayStation (@AskPlayStation) August 25, 2014

[Sources]: Game Informer: [Update] Sony Online President Tweets “All Is Well” Regarding Airplane Bomb Threat, FBI Responds [https://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2014/08/24/bomb-threat-forces-flight-of-sony-online-president-to-reroute.aspx]; ScrewAttack: Plane carrying the boss of Sony’s Online Entertainment division rerouted due to bomb scare [https://www.screwattack.com/news/plane-carrying-boss-sonys-online-entertainment-division-rerouted-due-bomb-scare].