Late passenger calls in hoax bomb threat to delay plane

A man running late for a flight to Phoenix phoned in a fake bomb threat in the hope his plane would be delayed long enough for him to catch it.

Staff at Oregon’s Rogue Valley airport became suspicious after the man came to their desk asking about Flight 6262, which by then was on its way back to the terminal because of the threat.

He was held on outstanding, unrelated criminal charges and questioned by the FBI, Medford Police Lt Mike Moran said.

The plane, an America West express shuttle, returned to the airport yesterday after the threat was called in.

It had been in the air for just a few moments when a flight attendant took a call from the pilot, said passenger Barbara Tatom.

“She just turned white,” Tatom said of the flight attendant. “I thought ‘Oh my god, I think we are in trouble.”’

The 30 passengers were evacuated and a bomb squad searched the plane.

All bags were rechecked for any traces of explosives, but nothing suspicious was found.

Officials believed the call was a “credible threat” because the caller referred to a specific flight, airport spokeswoman Kim Stearns said.

“The individual was firm and gave information for a specific flight,” she said.