ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — According to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office (PCSO), the bomb threat made on an Allegiant Airlines flight on Sunday was from a 27-year-old man.
Deputies said Taj Taylor, one of the passengers, told another passenger that his laptop was a bomb. The passenger immediately told flight attendants. Detectives said many other witnesses on the plane also heard Taylor say he had a bomb.
PCSO said that at around 2:03 p.m., they were alerted to this verbal bomb threat on Flight 1023. The crew declared an emergency and returned to St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport (PIE) at around 2:08 p.m.
The airport remained open, and there have been no reported injuries, according to deputies. 170 passengers were deplaned and evacuated.
PCSO's K9s searched Taylor's belongings, and no bomb was found.
The FBI has assumed the lead on this investigation.
Allegiant Airlines also responded to this incident earlier Sunday afternoon:
"Earlier today, shortly after 2 p.m. Eastern Time, a passenger caused a disruption on board Allegiant Flight 1023, en route from PIE to Roanoke-Blacksburg Airport," said Andrew Porrello, with Allegiant Media Relations. "Allegiant does not tolerate disruptive behavior of any kind. The aircraft returned to the airport, where it landed safely. Law enforcement met the aircraft and took the passenger into custody. The plane returned to the gate where all passengers and crew are currently deplaning. Unfortunately, the crew are reaching their FAA-mandated time limits, so we must re-crew the flight. Once that is done, the flight will continue to its destination. We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused our passengers."
This is a developing story. Any new information will be updated in this article and on our social media platforms.
It's been one year since Hurricane Milton impacted our community. Tampa Bay 28 revisited some of Tampa Bay's hardest hit areas to show the recovery and the work that still needs to be done.
