By India Today World Desk: A person onboard an Alaska Airlines flight destined for Seattle has been accused of threatening the crew, demanding the airplane be diverted to a different airport, as he claimed to be fleeing from a Mexican drug cartel.
The suspect, recognized as Brandon L Scott, aged 38, was apprehended on July 5 after handing a threatening word to a flight attendant, outlining his calls for, reported The Independent.
According to the police, the word learn, “There is a bomb on the plane. This is not a joke. Several pounds of homemade explosives are in my carry-on bag. I have a detonator with me. Handle this matter carefully and exactly how I say, otherwise, I will detonate the explosives and kill everyone on board.”
“You are to alert the pilot to this note and keep the issue to yourself. Many innocent lives are in your hands. Do as I demand and everyone will live. Deviate and the consequences will be deadly for all of us. I have nothing left to lose,” it mentioned.
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Witnesses reported overhearing the alleged risk. One witness described the captain saying, “‘I can’t say much, but a guy in first class told the flight attendants that if we land in Seattle, he has a bomb and that he’s going to let it off.”
The crew members promptly knowledgeable the captain in regards to the bomb risk, who then alerted Air Traffic Control and Alaska Airlines.
As a results of the risk, the flight was diverted to Spokane, the place Scott was arrested upon touchdown. The Spokane Police Department bomb squad carried out a radical search of the plane however discovered no explosives on board. The airport was briefly shut down because of the incident.
A passenger shared the expertise and was quoted by The Independent as saying, “I just got back from a long trip and I have nothing right now except my wallet and my phone. The pilot said, ‘Hey, the plane is fine, they checked it out, and we’re good.’ And we’re like, ‘Why is a dude getting arrested?’ and then it was like, ‘Why are we deboarding?'”
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Scott, who at the moment lacks authorized illustration as indicated by courtroom data, has been charged with conveying false info. If convicted, he may face a most sentence of 5 years in jail and a $250,000 effective.
The felony criticism towards him said that Scott claimed to be focused by the Sinaloa Cartel, including that he believed members of the cartel had been ready to torture and kill him upon his arrival in Seattle.
The flight concerned had 177 passengers and 6 crew members. Alaska Airlines expressed appreciation for the understanding and persistence of the passengers throughout the scenario.
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