As if Spirit Airlines isn’t having enough time after emerging from bankruptcy – they had a -26% margin last quarter – on June 5 a passenger made a bomb threat in order to delay a plane. He was mad about missing the Detroit – Los Angeles flight.
23‑year‑old John Charles Robinson triggered a full-scale security protocol after being turned away at the gate from Spirit flight 2145. The boarding doors were closed but he thought he had a way to get them re-opened.
He got rebooked onto a flight later that day and he called Spirit Airlines reservations to let them know that someone planned to bomb that flight. He gave a detailed description of the imaginary suspect. He warned,
They’re going to be carrying a bomb through the TSA.
Authorities halted the flight and deplaned passengers. Bomb-sniffing dogs and FBI agents swept the aircraft. Passengers were re-screened before the flight finally departed about six hours later. And investigators traced the threat call back to the man. He used his own phone to place the call.
When Robinson returned later that evening to catch his rescheduled flight, he was arrested by FBI agents. He’s admitted placing the call and said his motive was to delay the flight until he could board—rather than getting rebooked-but he wasn’t able to accomplish that. He now faces a sentence of up to 10 years, and has been released on $10,000 bond. His preliminary court hearing is set for June 27, 2025
In addition to passengers calling in bomb threats so that they can delay flights they’re late for, we’ve also seen them leave bomb threats on the lavatory mirror, claim to have a bomb onboard when they don’t, get frustrated with delays and tell a gate agent that the airline should be bombed, and claim to be a terrorist with women’s hearts.
Here’s video of all of these incidents:
A flight attendant even called in a bomb threat because she didn’t want to fly with her ex-boyfriend. There are better ways to call out from duty!
(HT: Paddle Your Own Kanoo)
Amazing, call in a bomb threat to an airplane and get out of jail on $10,000 bond.
“He’s admitted placing the call and said his motive was to delay the flight until he could board—rather than getting rebooked-but he wasn’t able to accomplish that.” Wow.
Is @Common Sense around today? A very fitting username in this case.
His tray table is obviously not up and locked!
Picard
To quote Snidley Whiplash again about Dudley Do-Right, “Nobody could be that stupid.”
“In today’s entry for the stupidest criminal…”
Let me guess on his way to join the ex Tesla firebombers that are now defacing buildings, burning American flags, torching vehicles assaulting state and federal officers.
You wonder how one airline (well gotta include Frontier too) can find people so stupid and clueless in life.
@ Coffee Please — No, but he will be sharing a cell with Rudy Giuliani.
@Coffee Please — While that would be convenient for you to blame everything on your perceived enemies, this seems like one of yours, sir. Speaking of ‘now defacing buildings and assaulting officers,’ that sounds more like J6, lest we forget!
@1990. You took the bait. Just like I thought you would. Fish on the line! Fish on the line!
@Coffee Please — Yum! Gotcha on J6, though. As @Mike P used to say, ‘I accept your surrender.’ Feed me more!
@1990. Jan 6? Oh the day that rag tag group of protesters armed with cell phones, back backs and American Flags was going to overthrow the government? That day? Those people were actually going to overthrow the most powerful military in the world? Easy on the Joy Behar and Sonny Hostin BS.
@Coffee Please — Thank you. I was still quite hungry. ‘Protestors’? I thought they were mere ‘freedom-loving tourists at the Capitol,’ remember… sheesh, you’re forgetting the ‘talking points,’ sir! (Got anything else??)
23 year old.
Say no more. Story tells itself.