A passenger on a Delta Air Flight which was already experiencing a lengthy weather-related delay further hold-up after causing a terror alert when he claimed there might be a bomb in his briefcase after a flight attendant asked him to move it ahead of departure.
Charles Kent Kubie, 59, was arrested on charges of making a terroristic threat against Delta flight 1071 with service from Austin Bergstrom to Atlanta Hartsfield following his remarks about the potential contents of his hand luggage.
The flight was scheduled to depart Austin at around 1 pm on January 9 but was already heavily delayed when officers from the Austin Police Department responded to a potential terror threat aboard the Airbus A321 aircraft at around 5:30 pm, KEYE reports.
According to an arrest affidavit, following the lengthy ground delay, flight attendants were finally preparing the cabin for departure when one of the crew members asked Kubie to move his briefcase.
Kubie allegedly responded that there was one of three things in the bag: “Money, a bomb or a gun.”
Failing to find the funny side of Kubie’s comment, the flight attendant promptly notified the Captain, who informed law enforcement. The flight then had to be further delayed as explosive detection dogs swept the cabin.
After giving the airplane the all-clear, the flight didn’t end up departing Austin until gone 10 pm, landing in Atlanta over nine hours later.
A spokesperson for Delta Air Lines confirmed that flight 1071 had to be delayed due to what the carrier described as a ‘passenger disturbance’.
“After an initial delay due to severe weather, Delta flight 1071 became further delayed by a customer disturbance that necessitated the involvement of local law enforcement. We apologize to our customers for the delay in their travels,” the airline said in a statement.
Interesting story FYI this sentence got missed in editing:
“the flight didn’t end up departing Austin until gone 10 pm, landing in Atlanta over nine hours later.“
You missed the punctuation in your sentence. Also ‘got missed’ is wrong.
They went by way of Brasilia crossed by Trenton…
Surprised the crew lasted the delay without going illegal.
It seems like public spanking should be a form of justice for people like Charles Kent Kubie. One would think such would start to curtail the incredibly bad behavior and thoughtless conduct America has been experiencing for the last 8 years.
I was commenting to someone recently how odd it was then when I grew up on the 60’s the TV shows were predominately about emulating good behavior and doing the right thing: Leave it To Beaver, Lassie, Bewitched, The Brady Bunch, Gilligan’s Island, Green Acress, Batman, I Dream of Jeannie and on and on. Now, starting with The Apprentice, TV shows predominately idealize cheap, bad and rude behavior like, also: The Housewives (of wherever), Growing Up Hip Hop In Atlanta, Mama June Not To Hot, The Bachelor(again you fill it in version), The Kardashians, Big Fat Fabulous Life, Fear Factor, etc., etc., etc. It is no wonder our country faces such a decline in our democracy, our decency, our civility and, frankly, just basic common sense.
Well said Peto! Also the lack of respect for other people . Not being loud when another person is trying to sleep. Being considerate of older people who move slowly, or the mom /dad with a baby in their arms. What happened?