JAMAICA A business consultant with homes in Manhattan and Austin, Texas, was arrested last week at JFK Airport after suggesting her luggage contained a bomb, federal prosecutors said.
Rosalinda Baez was charged with reckless endangerment for the April 15 incident in which, after being told the jetway to an Austin-bound JetBlue flight was closed and she could not board, demanded her baggage be returned from the plane, the U.S. attorney in Brooklyn said.
When a JetBlue employee told Baez that her baggage would not be pulled off the plane, she said, “What if I had a bomb in my bag?” court papers show.
When the employee told her the Transportation Safety Authority would have detected it, Baez replied, “Well, I have a bomb in my bag, so are you guys going to turn the plane around [because] I need my bag?” court papers show.
The plane was diverted in flight to Richmond, Va., where the passengers were off-loaded and screened while dogs searched the plane. No bomb was found, authorities said.
Baez was released on $200,000 bail.
