SPOKANE, Wash. — The atmosphere was tense on Alaska Airlines Flight 344 as Khaylena Torres and her fellow passengers exited the plane after a bomb threat forced them to make an emergency landing in Spokane Wednesday evening.
"We're hearing the announcement that there is a mechanical issue, and we're going to do an emergency landing in Spokane," Torres said. "'They had told us, 'we're gonna land don't worry about all the cops and fire trucks. That's just protocol when we announced an emergency landing.'"
It turned out that there was no mechanical issue.
"But, once we everybody kind of like looked forward down the aisle, you can see in the very front there was two police officers that were handcuffed and a guy in first class," Torres said.
Alaska Airlines confirmed a passenger on Flight 334 from Atlanta to Seattle made a "direct threat to the safety of our aircraft" to a flight attendant.
"We didn't hear no commotion," Torres said. "We were completely just blindsided."
Next thing Torres knew, police escorted the man off the plane in cuffs. Once the suspect was in custody, passengers were brought to a fire station where they stayed for several hours. As a mother, Torres did her best to comfort her son after an unforgettable vacation in more ways than one.
"You know, just scary to know like, not only being yourself but you'd have your kid with you and there was so many kids on that plane," Torres said.
When asked how she felt about flying after her experience, Torres had this to say.
"It's definitely scary," Torres said. "Like I said, I'm an overthinker. I have so much anxiety when it comes to anything like that."
In an e-mail to passengers, Alaska Airlines apologized, offering to cover expenses and a $300 flight credit.
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