The Angels.- An Alaska Airlines flight headed to Seattle (Washington) was diverted to a nearby airport after a man made a false bomb threat saying he was fleeing the Sinaloa cartel, local media reported Thursday.
Brandon Scott, 38, was arrested Wednesday night after handing a flight attendant a note saying that “there is a bomb on the plane, this is not a joke,” according to court documents cited today by the KIRO7 channel.
In the note, the man claimed that he was carrying several pounds of homemade explosives in his handbag and that he had the detonator with him.
“Handle this matter carefully 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, which had departed from Atlanta, Georgia, to divert to the Spokane airport, a city east of Seattle.
A bomb squad did not find the device or explosive material anywhere on the plane and authorities 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 and wanted him arrested. according to court documents.
Alaska Airlines reported that there were 177 passengers and six crew members on board, and that none were hurt or injured.
Federal authorities are investigating the case.
