Couple’s break-up becomes a 'security threat' with the plane making an emergency landing

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A couple’s argument resulted in Breeze Airways flight making an emergency landing when the man mentioned the word “bomb.”

Flight 717, en route from Orlando, Florida to Providence, Rhode Island on December 5, diverted 45 minutes after takeoff, local broadcaster News4JAX reported.

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In an affidavit filed by FBI investigators, authorities explained how Evan Sims, 41, began acting strangely when his girlfriend broke up with him after he threatened to “fire up a vape” during boarding.

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Sims, in response to being publicly broken up with, purposely spilt his drink on his ex-girlfriend and called her a “b—h.” He proceeded to make various comments about the plane, referring to needing to use the emergency doors and asking flight attendants about the emergency life raft, according to an aviation blog, Paddle Your Own Canoe.

Sims’ behaviour started to make other passengers uncomfortable prompting them to ask flight attendants to switch seats, but the aircraft was already taxiing for takeoff.

After takeoff, Sims allegedly said out loud that he wanted to exit the plane during its ascent. Unable to accommodate his unreasonable request, flight attendants instead suggested moving his ex-girlfriend to a different seat, but before they were able to, Sims allegedly declared that his former lover was in possession of a bomb.

“The guy said I’ll tell people you have a bomb in your bag and she said I’ll tell them you have weapons on you,” passenger Rachel Corrigan told WJAX.

The argument escalated, the airline said, until it became “a perceived security threat.”

Pilots were eventually notified and they radioed their head office for guidance on handling the situation, where they were advised to divert the plane to Jacksonville, Florida.

A full bomb threat emergency ensued.

Upon landing, the FBI investigated the aircraft and determined the threat to not be credible.

A video shared by local news stations showed the couple being escorted out of the aircraft in handcuffs after being reportedly arrested.

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“Ladies and gentlemen, I apologize for messing up your travel plans,” Sims told the passengers before leaving.

Following an FBI interrogation, Sims said his comments were “misconstrued,” and that the passengers misheard him, despite acknowledging that he may have “accidentally” said the word once.

Breeze Airways told passengers the flight was cancelled and rescheduled for the following day, providing them with overnight accommodation and with a US$150 compensation to cover food costs.

“Even if the aircraft was safe, they don’t allow us to fly,” the pilot said, per People’s report.

“I understand that this is less than ideal,” he added. “Unfortunately, some people decided to misbehave and really mess up the evening for all of us.”

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