Bomb threat forces Northwest flight to return to Sea-Tac
By KOMO Staff & News Services
SEATAC, Wash. -- A Northwest Airlines flight returned to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Wednesday after a man said there was a bomb on the plane, though investigators do not believe the threat was credible.
Airport spokeswoman Terri Anne Betancourt said a passenger who had cleared a security checkpoint told an employee at the gate that a bomb was on Northwest Airlines flight 980.
Betancourt said the man was ticketed to be on the flight but did not check any luggage and was never on the plane, which left Seattle about 12:30 p.m. She said the man's motive was unclear, but "it was clear he wanted the plane to come back."
The Airbus A320 was scheduled to fly to Memphis but returned to Sea-Tac just after 1 p.m. where it taxied to the west side of the airport and was met by police and fire department personnel. The 142 passengers remained onboard.
Police were interviewing the pilots, trying to determine how extensive a security sweep they needed to make before allowing the plane to fly to Memphis.
The man who made the threat was arrested. "After interviewing him, they said they do not believe it was a credible bomb threat," Betancourt said.