“My Friend Made Me Fake Bomb Threats on These Flights”

A former flight attendant has confessed to faking two bomb threats on two separate flights, and now faces multiple federal charges; he initially lied about why he fabricated the threats, blaming it on someone who was supposedly extorting him, but then came clean that he did it on his own, willingly.

A former SkyWest flight attendant is facing federal charges after admitting to making up two bomb situations that required two planes to make an emergency landing. The first incident was on Delta flight 4770 from Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Dickinson, North Dakota. Justin Cox-Sever told the flight deck he found a suspicious beeping bag onboard the aircraft that no passenger recognized.

“At that time, the captain declared a Level 3 emergency, notified air traffic control, and prepared for an emergency landing,” court documents say, reported by CNN.

When investigated, the bag only held rolled-up towels. The second incident was on American Airlines Flight 2928 from Charlottesville, Virginia, to Chicago.

“During that flight, Cox-Sever discovered a written threat on the wall of the lavatory stating a bomb was on the plane,” the court documents say. “The flight was diverted back to Charlottesville and no explosives were found on the plane. Cox-Sever had pictures of this incident on his cell phone and stated he received positive feedback from his employer for his handling of the incident.”

Once the FBI began investigating, Cox-Sever came clean that he made the bomb threats up. At first, he claimed “he was extorted by a friend who told him that he needed to ‘bring down’ the plane or else they would harm him and his family,” FBI agent Daniel Genck told CNN. But later Cox-Sever came clean about fabricating everything. He now faces two federal charges: interfering with the operation of a commercial aircraft and communicating false information which endangered the safety of the aircraft.