CHARLOTTE — A flight bound for Charlotte was delayed last week after crews reported suspicious activity on the plane “regarding the name of a WiFi hotspot involving the word ‘bomb,’” ABC News reports.
American Airlines Flight 2863 was scheduled to travel from Austin, Texas, to Charlotte on Friday around 1:40 p.m., according to ABC News.
Charlotte resident Bruce Steen was one of the passengers aboard the flight who ABC News said witnessed the incident at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.
Steen told ABC News that he was seated near the front of the plane when he saw a man approach a flight attendant with a tablet. The flight attendant called the cockpit, Steen said, and the pilot immediately announced the flight would be returning to the gate due to an “administrative issue,” ABC News reports.
Soon after, Steen told the news outlet the pilot updated passengers and announced someone had “renamed their hotspot.” The crew confirmed the hotspot was called: “There is a bomb on the flight,” ABC News reports.
Crew members also promptly called the Austin Police Department and the Department of Aviation, according to ABC News.
Steen said an Austin PD lieutenant came aboard the plane and told passengers: “If this is a joke, please raise your hand now, because we can deal with the practical joke differently than if we have to do a full blown investigation of what’s going on here.”
After no one reportedly raised their hands, Steen said Austin PD escorted every passenger off the plane and at one point, each of them had to show officers their hotspot. Read more about what Transportation Security Administration officials had to say here.
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