Report: Hacker Claims of Plane Takeover Aren't Credible

U.S. law enforcement officials have no credible evidence that airline cockpits have been hacked from passengers’ seats, contradicting a man who claims he did just that.

While attempting to tamper with flight controls is illegal, investigators don’t actually believe that such attempts could be successful, a senior law enforcement official said Monday. The official asked not to be named because an investigation into a hacker’s claims is continuing.

Chris Roberts, founder of a company called One World Labs, had his computers seized by Federal Bureau of Investigation agents on April 15 in Syracuse, New York. He told an FBI agent that he’d altered a plane’s engine thrust through an in-flight entertainment system, according to an affidavit.