Breeze Airways flight diverted after passenger allegedly makes fake bomb threat

A Breeze Airways flight was diverted after a passenger claimed there was a bomb on the plane, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said. Evan Sims allegedly claimed his travel companion had an explosive device during a flight from Orlando, Florida, to Providence, Rhode Island, on Tuesday, according to an affidavit filed in federal court in Florida this week. The plane was diverted to Jacksonville. He and his companion, who were in a romantic relationship, argued onboard. Sims said he “was going to ‘fire up a vape,’” and “hoped the airplane did not ‘go down,’ ” the affidavit signed by FBI special agent Molly Chapman said. He also allegedly made comments about “needing to use the emergency doors” and questioned the crew about the emergency life raft in the overhead compartment, among other statements. Sims’ companion told him multiple times that their relationship was over. As the crew prepared to move her to another seat after takeoff, crew and other passengers heard him claim she had a bomb “approximately two times.” All passengers deplaned upon landing, but bomb detection dogs did not find one. Sims told special agents and an official from the Transportation Security Administration that “he was making ‘jokes’ about the airplane ‘going down’ because he was unfamiliar with the airline company, and he was nervous about flying.” He added that he wanted to get off the plane because his companion had broken up with him, and he no longer wanted to go to Rhode Island.<br/>