A JetBlue flight with 150 passengers on board headed to New York had to return an hour after takeoff from Las Americas International Airport yesterday, Thursday 14 May 2015, because of an unruly drunk passenger. Frank Bruno Diaz, who was accompanied by two women, had an argument with the JetBlue crew and described himself as a terrorist who had a bomb. He was handcuffed and taken out of the plane on a stretcher.
The event caused the shutdown of the Las Americas International Airport for around three hours.
Following the procedures for this kind of incident, the passengers had to deplane and all luggage was checked. The flight, which departed at 4:45pm, returned at 6:20pm, and the checks did not end until 8:45pm. The shutdown caused the passengers to miss their connecting flights.
Seven flights were delayed, including Avianca to Colombia, Air Caribe to France and Seaborne to Puerto Rico.
On the case, the Specialized Airport Security Corps (CESAC) reported that during the JetBlue 810 flight headed to New York, a Dominican passenger with US citizenship reacted violently, claiming he was a terrorist who had a bomb, a situation that caused panic among the passengers. The captain of the plane announced he would return to Santo Domingo because he was closer there than to his destination.
The passenger faces penalties of between 3 to 10 years in prison and a lifetime ban on flying by air for the violation of Article 81 of Law 188-11 on airport security. He is also likely to be heavily fined.
http://www.elcaribe.com.do/2015/05/15/devuelven-vuelo-jet-blue-por-supuesta-bomba
http://www.noticiassin.com/2015/05/avion-comercial-es-devuelto-al-aila-por-amenaza-de-pasajero/