Bomb scare on Austin plane causes delays; passenger onboard speaks out

AUSTIN, Texas - A passenger who was on a flight out of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport that was delayed by a bomb threat is speaking out.

While on board the flight, someone changed their hotspot's Wi-Fi network name on the plane to "I have a bomb."

Passenger describes his experience

Photo courtesy: Mark Bethune

Local perspective:

Passengers on board flight 2863 in Austin were delayed for hours due to a bomb scare.

For passenger Mark Bethune, his flight from Austin to Charlotte was far from routine.

"I can't believe this is happening and get me out of here," said Bethune. 

On board the flight, Bethune noticed a passenger bringing their laptop up to the front of the plane. Soon after, an announcement came from the flight attendant.

"Something to the effect of that someone messed with the Wi-Fi, and they're going to have to call in TSA and airport police. And if anyone wanted to fess up to it, it would save everyone time and hassle," said Bethune. 

When multiple police officers arrived at the plane, Bethune says the passengers were told not to touch their luggage.

"The officer in charge gave us more details that someone had set up a hotspot and the name of the hotspot was either ‘I have a bomb’, 'there's a bomb on this plane,'" said Bethane. 

Police asked the person who changed the network name to come forward, but after no one came forward, police began checking all phones row by row on a full flight.

Passengers then got off the plane, returning to their gate with only their phones while police swept the plane. 

"It was all blocked off. It had a plastic sheet around it. And there were people monitoring all the access points, and they had crime scene tape set up," said Bethane. 

Then, they went to their own security screening area. After a lengthy process, passengers were able to re-board.

Bethune is a survivor of the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting, the deadliest mass shooting in modern history. He says it makes him more hyper vigilant in situations like these.  

"They absolutely did the right thing. I know it was an inconvenience for me to wait for four hours, but they did the right thing. That's the price we pay for living in a secure world," said Bethune. 

What we don't know:

It's unclear if it was determined who changed the network name.

FOX 7 Austin reached out to APD to learn more but have not heard back.

What they're saying:

ABIA released a statement on the incident:

"The aircraft returned to the gate to allow APD to sweep the aircraft and luggage explosives. All passengers were deplaned and re-scanned by the Transportation Security Administration prior to being allowed to board again.

The aircraft was cleared by APD around 4:40 p.m., and all passengers were successfully re-scanned around 5 p.m. The flight is scheduled to depart around 6:15 p.m. 

The incident did not cause significant impacts to airport operations other than the response, and it did not affect airline operations other than the flight that was held back."