An unsettling incident at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport led to the arrest of Charles Kent Kubie after he allegedly made a terroristic threat on a Delta flight preparing to depart for Atlanta. As reported by CBS Austin, the 59-year-old man was taken into custody on Tuesday and is being charged with making a terroristic threat.
It all started when a flight attendant requested Kubie to move his briefcase. His response, suggesting the case could contain "money, a bomb or a gun," prompted her to alert the captain immediately. KXAN details that the statement led to the police being called and the arrival of armed officers onboard, who conducted a sweep with Explosives Detection dogs, finding no dangerous materials.
Kubie, who as of Thursday morning did not have an attorney listed to represent him in court records, was later booked into the Travis County Jail. Passengers experienced major delays, with their Delta flight being stalled for over eight hours. In addition to the threat, the flight faced initial weather-related delays, compounding the inconvenience to those aboard.
Following the disturbance, crews had hit their federally regulated time limit, necessitating a wait for a new crew to staff the flight. Meanwhile, AUS Airport conveyed its acknowledgment of the Tuesday disturbance and expressed gratitude for the patience of affected passengers and the support of the APD. Delta mirrored this sentiment, apologizing for the extensive delay in customer travels caused by both the severe weather and the subsequent customer disturbance, according to statements cited in CBS Austin.
