Woman charged for making bomb threat after arriving too late for her JetBlue flight

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday

Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US

Please enter a valid email address

Please enter a valid email address

SIGN UP

I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy

A Chicago woman has been charged with falsely reporting that she had a bomb in her luggage, after arriving too late to get on her flight at Florida’s Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

Marina Verbitsky, 46, was refused entry to a flight bound for Chicago with her child and husband on Monday evening.

The woman told staff her son had school the next day, so she could not miss the flight, reported The Washington Post. JetBlue Staff at the gate told her the plane was taxiing on the runway.

“She became very angry because they were not allowed to board the plane. She was using profanities towards the employees and when she was notified the plane was taxiing to the runway with her checked luggage, she stated there was a bomb in her luggage,” stated an affidavit supplied by Broward Sheriff’s Office.

Ms Verbitsky was immediately arrested after her bomb threat. The JetBlue plane was rerouted, all passengers were evacuated from the flight, and the BSO’s Bomb Squad and Threat Management Unit detectives determined that there was no bomb in her suitcase.

Ms Verbitsky was held at the Main Jail, an eight-story maximum security facility adjacent to the Broward County Courthouse, under the charge of “False report concerning planting a bomb, an explosive, or a weapon of mass destruction, or concerning the use of firearms in a violent manner.”

Bail was set at $10,000, which Ms Verbitsky posted on Tuesday. A Florida judge has ordered a mental health evaluation.

This is the second time there has been a bomb threat at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in the past three months. Canadian man Wegal Rosen was charged with making a false report concerning the planting of a bomb, after allegedly disagreeing with bag fee at the Air Canada counter in July.

The threat caused three terminals to be evacuated and flights to be delayed for hours.

A fake bomb threat is a US federal crime, and a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.