Hawaiian Airlines flight takes off after 5 hours following bomb threat in San Diego
The incident occurred on Tuesday, when a passenger allegedly threatened the safety of the aircraft of Hawaiian Airlines. Authorities confirmed that there was no danger after 283 passengers and ten crew members were evacuated.
A Hawaiian Airlines flight, destined for Honolulu, was evacuated this Tuesday at San Diego International Airport due to a bomb threat. The flight left the boarding gate around 8:30 a.m., and by 10:30, the passengers were starting to get off the plane.
On the flight were around 283 passengers and ten crew members. According to FlightAware, Hawaiian Airlines 15th flight was supposed to take off around 8:28 a.m. Finally, the authorities confirmed a false alarm and no tragedy occurred.
How did a bomb threat reach the flight?
According to a spokesperson for the Hawaiian Airlines, "During pushback from the gate, a passenger was heard threatening the safety of our aircraft." He also mentioned that "As a precautionary measure, the captain immediately directed the Airbus A330 to a safe location on the airfield, where it was met by local and federal law enforcement, and the passengers disembarked safely."
Hawaiian Airlines took responsibility for the reboarding process of the passengers. According to the spokesperson, the new flight took off around 2:15 p.m., and it did not present any other inconvenience. They also apologized for any issues the alarm could have caused and praised the work of their crew during this emergency and how they managed it.
The flight must be evacuated and the passegners were safe on land. Photo GLR Composition / NBC News.
Bomb threat was a false alarm
The captain of Hawaiian Airlines Flight 15 called the San Diego Harbor Police Department immediately. As the airline stated, the agents were at the scene to secure all the passengers, evacuated them to a safer place. The call was made at 8:45 a.m., and they arrived shortly thereafter.
A SWAT Harbor Police team, along with the canine unit, arrived along with the Joint Terrorism Task Force, FBI, and the San Diego Fire and Rescue Department. They searched the plane and its contents, concluding that there was nothing suspicious according to a public statement. Harbor Police arrested one person without giving any details.
