A man who caused a bomb threat emergency onboard a Breeze Airways flight from Orlando to Rhode Island on Tuesday was arguing with his ex-girlfriend, who had just broken up with him, a new criminal complaint alleges.
Evan Sims, 41, of Rhode Island, has been charged with maliciously making a bomb threat on a commercial airliner and, if found guilty, faces a potential maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison, according to US Attorney Roger B. Handberg.
An affidavit filed by FBI investigators who responded to the bomb threat emergency onboard Breeze Airways flight 717 explains how Sims started to act strangely when his girlfriend told him that their relationship was over after he threatened to ‘fire up a vape’ during boarding.
In response to being publicly dumped, Sims deliberately spilt a drink on his ex-girlfriend and called her a ‘bitch’ before making various comments about the plane and the airline, specifically referring to needing to use the emergency doors and asking flight attendants about the emergency life raft.
He even made comments about the aircraft ‘going down’, although he later claimed he only mentioned this because he is a nervous flyer and isn’t familiar with Breeze Airways.
Passengers sitting around Sims became so alarmed about what he was saying that they asked to switch seats, but by this point, the Airbus A220 aircraft was already taxiing for takeoff, and they weren’t permitted to move.
Things, however, got even more out of hand shortly after the plane had taken off. While the plane was still in its initial ascent, Sims allegedly partially stood up and exclaimed to the cabin that he wanted to get off the plane.
By this point, flight attendants realized it would be a good idea to move Sims’ ex-girlfriend to an alternative seat but weren’t immediately able to take action because the seat belt signs were still switched on.
Before they had the opportunity to move his former lover, Sims twice stated that his ex had a bomb. Sims was so loud that other passengers around him, including an off-duty law enforcement officer, could hear.
At this point, the pilots radioed their head office for advice and a decision was then taken to divert the plane to Jacksonville, Florida, where a full bomb threat emergency was initiated.
Bomb detection sniffer dogs did not, however, detect anything of concern.
As he was led off the plane by law enforcement, Sims was heard apologizing was disrupting their travel plans, and when interviewed by the FBI, Sims said his comments had been ‘misconstrued’.
The other passengers had misheard him as he never said the word ‘bomb’, Sims first told federal agents, before acknowledging that he may have ‘accidentally’ said the word once.
After diverting to Jacksonville, Breeze Airways was forced to cancel the rest of the flight and told passengers to get hotel rooms for themselves before continuing the flight the next day.
Breeze Airways is a relatively new low-cost airline which was founded by the serial airline entrepreneur David Neeleman. The Utah-based carrier started flying in 2021 and operates a fleet of brand-new Airbus A220 aircraft, as well as Embraer regional aircraft.
