"Welcome to the No Fly Club" — Airplane Passenger AirDrops a Bomb Threat to Everyone on Board
Published June 28 2023, 3:03 p.m. ET
An American Airlines passenger inexplicably used AirDrop to share a bomb threat to everyone on board a flight — and then was promptly arrested and removed from the plane.
The wild story was shared by a TikTok creator who shares content using the handle @lilythern. It's unclear what involvement Nurse Lily had in the terrifying ordeal.
Either way, the good news is that the suspected nightmare passenger, who was seated in seat 17F on a flight to Albuquerque, N.M., was detained, and surely won't be flying the friendly skies anytime soon.
The frightening scene had passengers putting their hands on their heads as the suspect was detained.
The lengthy TikTok video that shows what happened after an airplane passenger AirDropped a bomb threat to everyone on board opens with uniformed members of the police asking people seated in the cabin to place their hands on their heads.
"Clearly he thought he couldn't be identified," the clip is captioned.
"I know you're sitting in 17F," an officer states, also calling the suspect by name. Guess he could be identified.
At this point, we see the reluctant suspect stand, and for a few pulse-pounding moments, he seems to not be in compliance with placing both of his hands on his head.
Luckily, all the other passengers on the plane, who commendably remained calm, are about to be rid of this suspect, who, as the original poster shared, will now be on the no-fly list, and "hit with a felony."
The bomb threat suspect was promptly removed from the plane.
Next in the TikTok, we see the 17F seat holder slowly advancing toward the front of the airplane, being handcuffed, and then, mercifully, removed from the flight, in custody of the Albuquerque Police Department.
Police vehicles awaited the Reebok sweatshirt and jeans–clad suspect on the tarmac. Bye!
Of course, the shocking video prompted thousands of comments, with one person saying what we're all thinking: It's "comforting" to know that the authorities were able to pinpoint the exact seat number of the suspect.
"Instant karma is so satisfying," beamed another commenter, while someone else said, "People are brave when they believe they are anonymous."
Finally, another commenter lamented about what a waste of time this delayed flight was for everyone who had places to be.
This isn't even the only time someone used AirDrop to send a bomb threat on a plane.
In February 2023, an El Paso, Texas, flight was delayed when a teen used AirDrop to spread a non-credible bomb threat to passengers, per The Dallas Morning News.
The outlet reports that under Texas law, creating false alarm on a form of public transportation is a felony that can result in a fine in excess of $10,000, plus two years of jail time.
As for the incident shared in the aforementioned TikTok, reportedly the scare took place back in 2022 — in mid-air!
Shockingly, a passenger told KOB 4 at the time, "At 8:27 I started receiving AirDrop notifications. I declined the first one and I accepted the second one and it said ‘you will die today.'"
When passengers alerted flight crew personnel, the bomb threat was reported to police, and they were waiting when the flight landed.
The passenger who spoke with the news outlet said, "To be honest I was scared for my life when I realized what was — I guess when we jolted the plane to a stop was when I started to get scared, 'cause I started to realize ‘you will die today’ is not a funny joke and that it could be more serious.”
