Bomb Scare Forces Spirit Airlines Plane to Return to Airport

Billie Cohen
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This isn’t the plane involved in the bomb threat, but it’s the same kind: an Airbus A320 taking off from Fort Lauderdale a few years ago. (Photo: iStock/Ivan Cholakov)

A Spirit Airlines plane returned to Fort Lauderdale airport last night after a passenger was overheard possibly talking about a bomb.

Spirit Flight 596, an Airbus A320 carrying 92 passengers, took off at about 10 p.m. last night, but after about 15 minutes of flight, it was turned around and brought back to the airport. Passengers left the plane while bomb squads checked it all out, dogs sniffed around, and baggage was matched up with passengers. No threat was found and so the plane took off around 3:45am and landed a few hours later in Minneapolis.

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A Spirit Airlines statement to the South Florida Sun Sentinel said the decision was “because of a security issue on board.” Two men were taken for questioning by the Broward Country Sheriff’s Office and the FBI, but there’s no more information yet about what really happened.

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