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Passenger Demands Apology After ‘Miscommunication’ causes Spirit Airlines Bomb Scare

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Passenger Demands Apology After ‘Miscommunication’ causes Spirit Airlines Bomb Scare.

The man at the center of the perceived threat that caused a Spirit Airlines flight to return to Fort Lauderdale just moments after take-off is demanding an apology.

The incident that caused a Spirit Airlines jet to return to Fort Lauderdale shortly after taking off for Minneapolis is being called a misunderstanding by a passenger about a conversation that was overheard, the Broward Sheriff’s Office said on Friday.

Meanwhile, the passenger who was associated with the perceived threat is “stunned” by the way he was treated, his attorney said on Friday.

Spirit Flight 596, an Airbus A320 carrying 92 passengers and six crew members took off about 10:09 p.m. Thursday.

A short time later it returned to Fort Lauderdale’s airport after a passenger was overheard possibly making mention of a bomb, according to the Broward Sheriff’s Office.

Along with three witnesses and two flight attendants, two people believed “to be involved with the alleged threat” were taken to a district office to be interviewed by the FBI, the Sheriff’s Office said Friday. One of those two, it was later determined, had no involvement with the alleged threat. The other man was later released and not charged.

Yaniv Abotbul, 38, who was flying to Minneapolis for business, is the man whose actions sparked the misunderstanding.

“He was stunned,” about being put in handcuffs while being interrogated for five hours, said Mark Eiglarsh, Abotbul’s attorney during a press conference at his Miami office.

Abotbul, the father of two, was born and raised in Israel, has been in this country for nine years and has been a U.S. citizen for two years. He lives in Aventura and usually flies to Minnesota, where he owns clothing stores, about twice a month.

“It’s devastating and very hard to know I have to pay a price for my appearance,” Abotbul said.

During the incident, the aircraft’s cabin, cargo hold and all bags onboard the plane were swept by police dogs. The security sweep did not turn up any explosives, the Sheriff’s Office said.

According to an excerpt of the incident report released by the Sheriff’s Office Friday: “After an exhaustive interview, the agents determined there was no actual threat made to the flight, and that the incident was the result of miscommunication between the witness passengers, the flight crew, and the pilot.”

In a statement released Friday through the Broward County Aviation Department, Spirit Airlines said its crew followed the appropriate protocol to ensure the flight’s safety.

“The consequences of not acting or responding to a potential threat can be catastrophic once the plane is in the air,” the statement said.

Even so, Eiglarsh, the attorney for Abotbul, wants the airline, the Broward Sheriff’s Office and the FBI to apologize to his client.

“We both understand that we live in very different times right now, but there’s no excuse to treat an American citizen as a terrorist. The pendulum has swung too far,” Eiglarsh said.

Meanwhile, the flight to Minneapolis finally took off from Fort Lauderdale about 3:45 a.m. and landed about 6:10 a.m., according to the online flight tracking service, Flightaware.com

Credit: Sun Sentinel

About Joy Ogbebo

My name is joy Ogbebo. I have spent Twenty four years in the Aviation Industry as a Cabin Crew, Crew Development Purser, Crew Line Manager, Line Trainer, Performance Manager. Customer Relationship and Head Cabin & Inflight Services. This is an industry I am very passionate about. Am happy to share my knowledge and experiences with the world. Please be my guest! Welcome Onboard!

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