An Allegiant Air flight was forced to return to St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport on Sunday after a passenger allegedly made a bomb threat mid-flight.
Flight 1023 departed at 2:03 p.m. en route to Roanoke, Virginia, but quickly turned around after two passengers got into a verbal altercation. During the argument, one of the individuals reportedly claimed there was a bomb on board.
Law enforcement met the aircraft upon its return and took 27-year-old Taj Taylor into custody. Investigators say Taylor told another passenger that his laptop was a bomb. That passenger immediately alerted the flight crew, and several other witnesses confirmed hearing the same threat.
A K9 unit from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office searched the plane and Taylor’s belongings but found no explosives.
An Allegiant spokesperson confirmed the incident and stated, “Allegiant does not tolerate disruptive behavior of any kind,” adding an apology for the disruption to passengers.
The FBI is now investigating the case.
Follow the St. Pete-Clearwater Sun on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Google, & X
(Image credit: WFTS)
PIE-Sun.com: local St. Pete-Clearwater news
St. Pete-Clearwater Sun 
Leave a comment