Bomb scare on Delta Airlines; French youth to blame
A French national remains in police custody tonight after pulling a practical joke in mid-air during a flight from the United States en route to Belize. Delta Flight 4345 carrying a total of seventy-one passengers arrived at the Philip Goldson International Airport shortly after eleven o’clock this morning carrying what officials believed to be an explosive device. It is not the type of practical joke to be taken lightly post-9/11 and the bomb scare sprang Belizean law enforcement authorities into full action. Upon landing at the PGIA from Atlanta, Georgia the aircraft was immediately boarded by explosives expert Lieutenant Colonel David Jones who proceeded to conduct a thorough search of the plane while members of various response teams stood on high alert nearby. 
When the procedure was exhausted it was discovered that there was no bomb or explosive devices onboard the airplane and the fifteen year old passenger is now facing a slew of charges.
Lt. Col. David Jones, Bomb Expert/BDF Chief of Staff
“About 11:24 or so this morning I received a phone call that there is possibly a bomb on a Delta Airline flight that left Atlanta coming to Belize. So I departed from here shortly after and when I arrived at the airport the aircraft was already on the ground. The security forces from the airport was there, the police was there, the fire service was there, BERT was there. Shortly after I arrived I was briefed on the situation that it’s possibly just a prank but they still needed the aircraft to be searched and the procedures to go through to ensure that it’s not a prank. After the passengers alighted the aircraft they spoke to a young man who originally is from France, he speaks French. He was the person who apparently held up a piece of paper showing it to his friend at the back of the aircraft marked “help!” This was on the immigration form with an exclamation mark on it. This got the attention of the flight attendant at the rear of the aircraft. The flight attendant then went forward and spoke to the young man and asked him what the problem was. He then said nothing was the problem but the paper dropped from his hand and that was when the flight attendant noticed the reverse side of the form that there was a drawing of an atomic bomb exploding. So he got concerned when he saw that piece of paper. 
He asked the young man for the paper and initially the young man reluctantly didn’t to give it to him but he eventually gave it to him. The flight attendant then took that paper to the captain who radioed into to our airport here explaining to them that there’s a possible, there maybe be a device on the aircraft. So the airport authority got their procedures in action and alerted everyone including myself. So the passengers were alighted, they were placed into a bus and they were taken away from the aircraft and to the main terminal. After everyone came out of the terminal I personally conducted a search along with my assistant inside the aircraft and we did not find any device inside the aircraft. After we searched the aircraft everyone else was searched, all their luggage were searched. All the luggage were screened again before entering into the airport and that was what transpired.”
Isani Cayetano
“Do you know if there will be any charges levied against this passenger for the prank that was pulled off?”
Lt. Col. David Jones
David Jones
“I am sure charges will be levied against him. I am not sure what the charge will be but the young man was taken into police custody. Police still continue to investigate this situation and I am sure that they will levy some sort of charge against this young man.”
Isani Cayetano
“Finally, is there any official protocol to prohibit, in this case, the media from responding to the area whereas other civilians were allowed free access to and from the airport?”
Lt. Col. David Jones
“Okay, not that I’m aware of. The only reason that the media would be restricted from going into the area is if there’s a danger to their life. But as to why the media was restricted to go in there I don’t know why. If civilians were going in there it means that other people may have been able to go in there as well.”
According to the international press, the pilot reported the suspicious activity six minutes before landing.
I don’t believe the kid should be charged. He was being a kid. Only 17? He wasn’t old enough to even be affected by 9/11 when it happened. Lesson learned and lets move on.
Lay off the weed dude…….
Hunab, be real! Only a kid! look at the age group doing all the killings etc. That makes it less because you classify them as kids? They know the law and expect leniency that is why they do these things.Once they clamp down on them they will re think their idle ways.
If it was a Belizean kid who did something like this on a plane enroute to the USA he would have been treated as a terrorist and probably charged.Stop the double standard and send this idiot to prison.
Charge him. ignorance is no excuse. How can we expect people to respect our laws if we keep slapping them on their wrist and sending them away. (Even though he violated international laws as well)
This child is an idiot, at 17 one should know better. He should be fined, why keep him behind bars, it’s not even logical. I think he has learned his lesson, and what he caused was a terrible inconvenience to his fellow passengers and a waste of time and money to the BDF Police and Fire department. Monsieur, vous êtes un idiot!
Hunab you should be ashamed of yourself for giving this boy an excuse for what he did. I don’t care if he was young to have been affected by 911 because there were a lot of people who were affected by 911. First of all do you have any children because I sure do, and if I was on that plane with my two kids and the bomb went off or someone in your family how would you have felt? Trust me you couldn’t go to these peoples country and pull a stunt like that because you will be punished harshly and severely before sending your behind home. It is time that Belize gets really though with these people when they come to Belize and do the things they do they can no longer just get a slap on the wrist and off they go Belize have laws just like any other country does, and you need to abide by them even if you do not like it. It’s time for Belize to take a stand and punish the wrong doers no matter how old they are. If this boy gets away with it trust me somebody else will do it, and it will be even worse than what this punk did.
next time when something like this happens,,,,please allow all the media houses to be there present…since they want to be part of the of statistics of the catastrophic damage that an explosive can do…i wouldn’t miss for nothing…CAPISH…typical Belizean people….very interfering…
Who was the person who looked like Hitler barking at the tourists and disrepecting them
He should be fired. These people are risking their lives comming to Belize and then Belize Hitler treats them bad.
Death Penalty!!!!
Charge this kid and find a way to make the USA get involved and send him to Guantanamo Bay…This sort of prank is no joke…
Had I been on that flight you bet your @$$ I would have asked assistance from other guys onboard and restrained his @$$, tortured him if necessary for him to say where the bomb is… I DONT PLAY AROUND WITH MY LIFE….AND NEITHER SHOULD YOU.
that kid should have been “preventatively detained” or fined and then deported. i agree with the previous view that not disciplining this young man gives someone else licence or at least the idea to try it — or worse! — in the future. and what prevents HIM from doing the same thing again? i realise that these days we seem to live in hypervigilant times, but can you just imagine the mass panic on that plane had the passengers known that there was a bomb threat?!?! though it might have been interesting to know how they might have dealt with the young man’s bordeom cure. i encourage the young man to save his boredom for the return trip to the states, i’m sure he’ll find all the “excitement” he can handle!
Rest in peace RAYMOND KILLA GENTLE …. J KILLA BABY breadA