ATLANTA — The Atlanta Police Department has identified the passenger accused of making a bomb threat as a Fronter Airlines flight was landing at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
Pierre-Saint Richardson, 48, faces terroristic threat charges. Atlanta police say he also had outstanding warrants, but did not say for what charges or where the charges occurred.
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Richardson is accused of making a bomb threat on Frontier Airlines Flight 2539 from Columbus, Ohio to Atlanta.
Other passengers who were aboard the plane talked to Channel 2’s Cory James about what they saw and heard. One said she was in Row 10 and heard the unruly passenger say something about a bomb.
“It was stressful,” the passenger said.
“The flight attendants started saying, ‘Heads down, hands up, heads down, hands up,” fellow passenger Jessica Kinder said.
Video taken by another passenger and posted on social media shows the frantic moments after flight attendants repeatedly told the unruly passenger to take his seat.
“Sit down, sit down and then the guy started saying the f word,” Kinder said. “He was texting the guy behind me. They were sending voice messages back and forth. You heard them what were they saying in French, so yeah, so I didn’t know.”
When the flight landed, passengers had to use the air stairs to deplane, and were bussed to the terminal, according to a statement from Frontier Airlines.
Richardson remains in the Clayton County jail. Channel 2 Action News has requested his booking photo. It will be up to federal prosecutors to decide if federal charges will also be filed.
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