A Michigan man has been arrested for allegedly calling in a fake bomb threat on a flight that he missed.
On Thursday, John Charles Robinson, 23, of Michigan, was supposed to depart from the Detroit Metropolitan Airport en route to Los Angeles.
He missed his flight with Spirit Airlines and was told he would have to rebook if he wanted to travel, ABC News reports.
According to U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon, Jr, Robinson then "used a cell phone to call into Spirit Airlines and conveyed false information about a bomb threat to Flight 2145 departing from Detroit Metro bound for Los Angeles."
“During the call, Robinson stated in part, ‘I was calling about 2145… because I have information about that flight,’ and ‘there’s gonna be someone who’s gonna try to blow up the airport,’ and ‘there’s gonna be someone that’s gonna try to blow up that flight, 2145,’” the affidavit says.
Robinson allegedly provided the operator with a description of the imaginary bomber, and told them that "they're going to be carrying a bomb through the TSA" and "they're still threatening to do it, they're still attempted to do it, they said it's not going to be able to be detected. Please don't let that flight board."
Spirit Airlines responded by immediately cancelling the flight and deplaning the crew and passengers for safety reasons.
According to an airline official, bomb sniffing dogs and FBI agents were deployed to sweep the plane, but no explosives were found.
During their investigation, FBI agents learned that Robinson had actually been booked on Flight 2145 but had missed boarding. When Robinson returned to the airport to fly out to Los Angeles, FBI agents took him into custody and played a recording of his alleged bomb threat back to him.
"Robinson listened to the above-mentioned recording and confirmed he was the one that made the recorded phone call to Spirit Airlines," officials said. "Robinson also stated that the phone number that called the bomb threat in to Spirit Airlines was his phone number (and had been for approximately 6 years), that the target cellular device was his device, and he gave written consent for a search of his device."
Robinson has been charged with using a cellphone to threaten or malicious convey false information concerning an attempt or alleged attempt to damage or destroy an airplane by means of an explosive, and the second is for spreading false information and hoaxes.
“No American wants to hear the words ‘bomb’ and ‘airplane’ in the same sentence. Making this kind of threat undermines our collective sense of security and wastes valuable law enforcement resources,” Gorgon said.
Robinson's first court appearance was on Friday afternoon, at which time he was released on a $10,000 bond. His next appearance is scheduled for June 27 for a preliminary examination.
