Editor’s note: This is a developing story. More details will be added once they become available.
An unfounded report that there was an explosive device on a passenger jet about to depart San Diego International Airport Tuesday forced a nearly five-hour grounding of the flight and left the Navy man who allegedly made the false claim under arrest.
The security emergency began at about 8:30 a.m., when a passenger aboard Honolulu-bound Hawaiian Airlines Flight 15, John Stea, 35, allegedly told a flight attendant that the person next to him had a bomb, according to the Port of San Diego Harbor Police Department. The airport is part of the Harbor Police’s jurisdiction.
The U.S. Navy issued a statement saying they are cooperating with authorities.
"The Navy is aware Electronics Technician 2nd Class John Stea, assigned to Maritime Expeditionary Security Group One, was arrested by San Diego Harbor Police on May 20 following an alleged bomb threat," the statement read. "The safety of the public and our personnel is of utmost importance to the Navy. We take all threats seriously and are cooperating fully with local and federal authorities."
Stea's claim was overheard as the airliner was in the process of "pushback from the (boarding) gate," said Marissa Villegas, a spokesperson for Hawaiian Airlines.
"As a precaution, the captain immediately taxied the Airbus A330 to a safe location on the airfield, where it was met with local and federal law enforcement and guests were safely deplaned," she said.
A total of 293 people, including 10 crew members, were evacuated, according to the airline. The passengers were transported by bus off the airfield to await a rescheduled flight.
In the mid-afternoon, the aircraft was reboarded and the flight resumed, taking off at about 2:15 p.m., Villegas said.
During the investigation, the jetliner was parked alongside a runway with its front passenger stairway deployed and personnel nearby with service dogs inspecting luggage that apparently had been removed from the plane.
Among agencies that responded along with a harbor police SWAT team were the FBI, Joint Terrorism Task Force and San Diego Fire-Rescue Department, according to Brianne Mundy Page, a spokeswoman for the Port of San Diego.
The personnel found nothing suspicious on the aircraft, Mundy Page said.
As of 10:41 a.m., 37 flights have been delayed and one flight canceled at the airport, according to Flight Aware. San Diego International spokesperson Nicole Hall said operations were continuing as normal and the delays shown on Flight Aware are unrelated to the bomb threat.
