A first-class passenger sparked panic on board an Alaska Airlines flight to Seattle after threatening to blow up the plane if it didn’t divert, before admitting he made up the hoax to avoid a Mexican cartel.
Brandon L Scott, 38, handed a flight attendant a terrifying note while on board flight 334 from Atlanta to Sea-Tac Airport on July 5, according to a federal complaint.
The hijacker scrawled his threat on the back of a receipt, warning the flight attendant he would ‘kill every soul on this plane’ if the plane landed at its intended destination.
With 177 passengers unaware of the bomb threat, the pilot rerouted the plane to Spokane, where the fraudster was swiftly taken into custody and charged with false information and fraud. No explosives were found on board.
He later told investigators he wanted to be arrested, claiming members of the notorious Sinaloa Cartel were waiting to torture him when he landed in Seattle.
Brandon L Scott was hauled off the plane after making a fake bomb threat to divert his flight away from Seattle, where he claimed cartel thugs were waiting for him
The hoax saw Scott pretend to have stashed an explosive in first-class, warning he would kill everyone on board unless the pilot landed at ‘any other airport’
Scott is facing five years behind bars and a fine of up to $250,000 for the hoax, which came as he made several demands in his attempt to evade the alleged cartel members.
When he handed the receipt to the flight attendant, Scott allegedly said he had stored the explosive above his seat in the first row, warning he would hit the detonator unless the pilot landed in ‘any other airport’, according to the complaint.
‘There is a bomb on this plane,’ the note read. ‘This is not a joke. Several pounds of homemade explosives are in my carryon bag. I have a detonator with me.
‘Handle this matter carefully and exactly how I say, otherwise I will detonate the explosives and kill everyone on board.
‘You are to alert the pilot to this note and keep the issue to yourself. Many innocent lives are in your hands, do as I demand and everyone will live. Deviate and the consequences will be deadly for all of us. I have nothing left to lose.’
Scott, who has prior convictions for kidnapping and robbery, added that if the pilot agreed to change the destination, ‘I will refrain from detonating the bomb’.
‘I repeat, if I see us land in Seattle, I will kill every soul on this plane,’ the note allegedly said, adding that he wanted the incident to ‘stay out of the news media until well after I have surrendered’.
Passengers were told the plane was hit with mechanical issues when they diverted, in an attempt by the pilot to keep the packed flight calm. The flight’s route is pictured above
The air hostess who was handed the threat alerted the cockpit, who in turn contacted Air Traffic Control and Alaska Airlines Security Dispatch, the complaint states.
In an attempt to avoid mass panic at 30,000ft, passengers were told the plane had a slight mechanical fault, and they would make a diverted landing to Spokane International Airport.
Scott was hauled off the flight by law enforcement, and a sweep of the plane by the Spokane Police Department’s Bomb Squad found no explosives were on board.
While in custody, the hijacker allegedly admitted to writing the note but said he did so because he was ‘being targeted by the Sinaloa Cartel’, the complaint states.
‘Scott stated members of the Cartel were waiting for him to land in Seattle in order to torture and kill Scott,’ the document said.
It’s unclear if Scott is in any danger from a drug cartel, and why he would have feared their ire. The Sinaloa cartel is not known to have a significant presence in Seattle.
He also allegedly admitted he had two shots of vodka on the flight, and was considering other tactics to disrupt the flight, such as assaulting a flight attendant or opening the cabin door.
‘Scott stated he did not think of a more reasonable approach such as contacting law enforcement personnel at the airport to ask for help or assistance,’ the complaint concluded.
According to KXLY, Spokane Airport was temporarily shut down Wednesday evening due to the hoax, which delayed four inbound and four outbound flights.
Spokane Airport was temporarily shut down Wednesday evening due to the hoax, which delayed four inbound and four outbound flights
Witnesses on the flight have revealed they were unaware of the potential bomb on board while their flight was being diverted.
One passenger told King5 the plane was told by the pilot they were forced to make an emergency landing because of a ‘mechanical issue’.
Once on the ground, Scott was quickly seized by law enforcement, with the passenger saying it took until that moment for most to realize the issue was more serious.
‘Everybody kind of looked down the aisle and you could see at the very front there were two police officers that were handcuffing a guy,’ they said.
‘It’s just scary to know, not only for yourself but when you have your kid with you – there were so many kids on that plane.’
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