Details are still scarce, but a bomb threat at Detroit Metro Airport on Thursday morning forced the evacuation of a Spirit Airlines flight that was headed to Los Angeles. The threat originally came in at about 7:00 a.m., leading authorities to contact law enforcement about "a potential security issue." Both the Wayne County Airport Authority and the Transportation Security Administration responded to the threat and attempted to figure out whether the bomb was real or not, the Detroit Free Press reports.
Without knowing whether there really was a bomb or not, agents decided to play it safe and evacuate the passengers, with the Wayne County Airport Authority telling Freep, "As a precaution, all passengers were safely deplaned and transported by bus to the Evans Terminal." They then had the plane taxi to "a remote location" where they inspected the plane and ultimately concluded there was no bomb. As an additional precaution, they also rescreened the passengers before letting them back on the plane.
"The safety of our Guests and Team Members is our top priority, and we are working to get our Guests to their destination as soon as possible," Spirit Airlines said in a statement.
No other flights were reportedly impacted by the bomb threat, and while airport operations soon returned to normal, law enforcement's investigation into the threat remains ongoing. Even though authorities didn't find a bomb on the plane, they don't take those kinds of threats lightly and are still working to determine where the threat came from and who's responsible. Bomb threats are serious enough on their own, but threatening an airline makes the entire situation far more serious.
Under federal law, even a false threat can be prosecuted as a felony and carries "maximum penalties of $5,000 or five years imprisonment or both for conveying or imparting false information willfully and maliciously or with reckless disregard for the safety of human life." Additionally, statements that "impart or convey false information regarding attempts to place or the placing of explosives aboard aircraft (but not in aircraft facilities such as airports) may also be punishable under 49 U.S.C. 46507(1)... which provides for a felony penalty, and under 49 U.S.C. 46302... which provides for a civil penalty for furnishing false information about alleged attempts to commit certain Title 49 offenses."
Thankfully, there wasn't actually a bomb, and no one was injured, but the feds don't mess around with bomb threats, and whatever the reason behind it, there's a good chance this won't end well for whoever called it in.
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