News
German counterterrorism authorities are leading an investigation into an explosive-laden drone that was found overnight at Leipzig airport.
An airport worker discovered the drone carrying an explosive device in a restricted cargo area late Tuesday, according to Dresden Public Prosecutor’s office and Saxony state police. A police bomb disposal robot examined the drone before officers disarmed the device by removing its detonator.
Airport officials temporarily suspended flights and diverted several aircraft. One of the diverted planes, a DHL cargo aircraft, struck another flying object while climbing away from the airport. After landing at Hanover airport, officials found signs of an impact on the aircraft’s nose.
Officials told WELT — which, like POLITICO, is part of the Axel Springer group — that the device’s detonator failed to function, preventing an explosion. They also said the drone was found just meters from a Ukrainian Antonov transport aircraft. According to the report, it contained Semtex, the explosive used in the bomb that brought down Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988, killing all 259 people on board and 11 on the ground.
