[dredmorbius]

Famously:

D. B. Cooper, also known as Dan Cooper, was an unidentified man who hijacked Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 305, a Boeing 727 aircraft, in United States airspace on November 24, 1971. During the flight from Portland, Oregon, to Seattle, Washington, Cooper told a flight attendant he had a bomb, demanded $200,000 in ransom (equivalent to approximately $1,500,000 in 2024) and four parachutes upon landing in Seattle.

Cooper showed a device which by all appearances may have been a bomb, though its ultimate capabilities were never conclusively determined:

[Cooper] opened his briefcase, and she saw two rows of four red cylinders, which she assumed were dynamite. Attached to the cylinders were a wire and a large, cylindrical battery, which resembled a bomb.

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D._B._Cooper>

Regardless, there was an actual terrorist threat and hijacking, so the threat itself wasn't merely "phoned in".

The incident inspired numerous copycats:

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D._B._Cooper_copycat_hijacking...>

There's a longer list of aircraft-involved terrorism incidents which might yield other forewarning instances:

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_aviation_incidents_inv...>

[causi]

Those are not airline bombings so I don't know why you think they're relevant. People do not call airlines, say they're going to blow up a plane, and then blow up a plane. Ever.

[dredmorbius]

The Cooper and copycat actions involved in some cases actual or plausible explosives, and at least the threat to blow up a plane.

The longer list of airline-terrorism incidents may (I haven't combed through it thoroughly), and I'd posted that for you or another reader to dig through should there be an interest.

I do acknowledge your general observation that most cases of phoned-in airline bomb threats don't appear to involve actual (or even dummy) explosives, the threat itself is sufficiently disruptive. And that for those intent on actually blowing up an aircraft, it's the act and not the mere threat which is sufficient. That said, I'm not convinced that that's always the case, and at the very least the Cooper and related instances seem to offer reasonably near-instance exceptions.

My aim really isn't nit-picking, pedantry, or belligerence, but an aim for accuracy. And again, your larger point certainly seems to cover most instances. If we can shake out some exceptions that would be interesting.

Thanks for your information and observations, BTW.

[causi]

the threat itself is sufficiently disruptive

Exactly. My point is that it shouldn't be, because there's about as much actual danger as a twelve year old cursing at you on Xbox Live.