Passenger arrested for threatening to blow up a plane in the US
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The Alaska Airlines passenger threatened to kill 'every soul' on board a flight to Seattle, but according to a statement, he did it to divert the flight due to alleged threats from a Mexican criminal group.
After authorities reported that An Alaska Airlines flight covering the Atlanta to Seattle route was diverted to Spokane on Wednesday after passenger Brandon Scott made a threat and caused the temporary closure of the airport in Washington, more details of the “anecdotal” case are now known.
According to authorities, the man made a false bomb threat by pointing out that he was fleeing the Sinaloa cartel.
Brandon Scott, 38, was arrested after handing a flight attendant a note saying “there is a bomb on the plane, this is not a joke,” according to court documents cited by local media today.
Alaska Airlines flight diverted after passenger threatened plane safety https://t.co/ZoHCZdilI9
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The note allegedly said that if Scott's demands were not met, he would “kill everyone on board,” adding that “he had nothing to lose,” the Department of Justice.
In the note, the man claimed he was carrying several pounds of homemade explosives in his carry-on bag and had the detonator with him.
“Handle this matter with be careful and do exactly as I tell you or else I will detonate the explosives and kill everyone on board,” the note read.
The man forced the flight from Atlanta, Georgia, to be diverted to the airport in Spokane, a city east of Seattle.
A bomb squad found no explosive device or material anywhere on the plane and authorities they determined that it was all a false alarm.
Scott admitted to police that he had deliberately lied about having a bomb on board because he was allegedly being pursued by members of the Sinaloa cartel, who he claimed had orders to torture and kill him when he landed in Seattle so he wanted them to arrested him, according to court documents.
According to police, “Scott stated that he did not think of a more reasonable approach, such as contacting law enforcement personnel at the airport for help or assistance,” including, revealed that he considered other plans to divert the flight, such as assaulting a flight attendant or opening a cabin door during the flight.
Fortunately, Alaska Airlines reported that there were 177 passengers and six crew members on board, and that no one was hurt or injured.