ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) confirmed that a 27-year-old man was behind the Allegiant Airlines bomb threat on the Sunday.
Deputies said Taj Taylor, a passenger on the flight, told someone sitting near him that his laptop was a bomb. That person quickly told the flight crew. Detectives said several other passengers also heard Taylor say he had a bomb.
PCSO reported that at around 2:03 p.m., they were alerted to the verbal threat made on Flight 1023. The crew responded by declaring an emergency and returned to St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport (PIE) at approximately 2:08 p.m.
Deputies stated that the airport stayed open and no injuries were reported. All 170 passengers were taken off the plane and evacuated safely.
PCSO’s K9 units searched Taylor’s items but did not find any explosives.
The FBI has now taken control of the investigation of Allegiant Airlines Bomb Threat Incident.
Allegiant Airlines released a statement on the incident later Sunday afternoon:
“Earlier today, shortly after 2 p.m. Eastern Time, a passenger caused a disruption on board Allegiant Flight 1023, en route from PIE to Roanoke-Blacksburg Airport,” said Andrew Porrello from Allegiant Media Relations. “Allegiant does not tolerate disruptive behavior of any kind. The aircraft returned to the airport, where it landed safely. Law enforcement met the aircraft and took the passenger into custody. The plane returned to the gate where all passengers and crew are currently deplaning. Unfortunately, the crew are reaching their FAA-mandated time limits, so we must re-crew the flight. Once that is done, the flight will ready or continue to its destination. We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused our passengers.”
This is a developing story. Updates will be shared in this article and on our social media pages.