A high school student from Pennsylvania was arrested after sending a bomb threat on an American Airlines flight through Apple's Airdrop technology. His threat forced the plane to return to the gate for authorities to search the plane as well as detaining the group of students during their planned humanitarian trip.
According to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), as the plane was taxiing in El Paso, Texas heading to Chicago, Illinois, passengers received an Apple Airdrop message reading, "I have a bomb. Would like to share a photo."
Apple's Airdrop technologies allowed iPhone users to wirelessly transfer images and files to other Mac users within 30 feet of each other. AirDrop does not require an internet connection.
The potential bomb threat forced crew members to return the A319 aircraft to the gate where the FBI West Texas Joint Terrorism Task Force stepped in to search the plane. The bomb squad reportedly searched the aircraft, passengers and luggage until authorities deemed the threat "non-credible," according to the DPS.
Authorities did not share how many passengers received the alarming bomb threat Airdrop message from the teen.
Further investigation identified a juvenile as the sender of the Airdrop messages. Authorities say the suspect confessed to the crime and evidence supporting suspect’s confession was discovered in their cell phone, and the phone was seized as evidence.
The unidentified juvenile is in custody with El Paso Juvenile Probation Department. The student faces one count of creating a false report or alarm, which is a felony in Texas.
American Airlines flight 2051 had 125 passengers and 8 crew members, DPS shared. According to flight tracker, FlightAware.com, the American Airline's plane landed at Chicago O'Hare International Airport over 5 hours later than expected.
According to Pennsylvania news outlets WPXI, the group of students is from Central Catholic High School in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and were participating in a humanitarian mission trip to the Texas border.