Two flights grounded in Atlanta following Twitter bomb threats

Two US passenger planes were targeted by bomb threats today. Delta flight 1156 and Southwest flight 2942, both bound for Atlanta, were escorted by F-16 fighter jets before landing. According to Reuters and the AP, passengers safely exited the aircraft before the planes were swept and cleared by bomb-sniffing dogs.

The cause for the commotion? Apparently a couple of tweets. As spotted by Buzzfeed, Twitter user @kingZortic told the official Delta and Southwest accounts earlier today that he was responsible for a bomb on each of the aircraft. He later posted his supposed address in Chicago, taunting authorities to raid his home. The account was inactive until this afternoon, when it posted its first tweet to Delta's support account.

@DeltaAssist I have a bomb on one of your planes, but I forgot which one when I left the airport. Can you help me find it?

— Zortic (@kingZortic) January 24, 2015

@DeltaAssist It was from Portland to Atlanta, I forgot the flight number, though. It was something like DL156 or DL 1556 I forgot the order.

— Zortic (@kingZortic) January 24, 2015

Authorities have not yet publicly confirmed the link between the Twitter user and the bomb threats, but the account does mention the specific flights that were checked for bombs in Atlanta. ABC News reports that officials familiar with the matter said the threats came from the Twitter account. The Tweets in question were published while the flights — which originated from Portland and Milwaukee — were still in the air.