A man traveling on a low cost airline from Orlando was arrested after his travel companion broke up with him for making statements about the plane’s safety and accusing her of having a bomb.
Evan Sims, 41, was arrested this week on felony charges related to the incident, which took place on Tuesday, December 5.
According to a criminal complaint filed in the United States Middle District of Florida, Sims was traveling on Breeze Airways Flight #717 from the Orlando to Providence, Rhode Island, where he is from.
Prior to taking off, Sims allegedly began arguing with his travel companion, with whom he is in a romantic relationship.
According to the complaint, Sims stated that he was going to “fire up a Vape” and that he had never hard of Breeze Airways. Witnesses say Sims allegedly said he hoped the airplane did not “go down,” and that they would be “gone with the wind.”
After his statements, Sims’ travel companion allegedly stated that the couple’s relationship was over and that Sims needed to leave her alone. At that point, the travel companion says that Sims dumped a drink on her and called her a “bitch.”
During the airline’s safety briefing, Sims allegedly made comments to his travel companion about needing to use the emergency doors and that the windows looked like they had not been used.
Sims allegedly told the woman that he hoped they did not have to use the windows before questioning the flight crew regarding the emergency life raft that was in the overhead storage compartment.
According to the complaint, multiple passengers requested to change seats, but were advised by the flight crew that the plane was taxiing and that they could not change seats during that process.
As the plane began its ascent into the air, Sims’ allegedly stood up in his seat and exclaimed that he wanted to get off the plane.
Once it was safe to move passengers, the flight crew attempted to resolve the situation by separating Sims from his travel companion. At that time, Sims stated approximately two times that his travel companion had a bomb on the plane.
The flight crew and multiple passengers, including one off-duty law enforcement officer, all heard Sims make the statements, according to the complaint.
Due to Sims’ repeated disturbances, the pilot relayed information to Breeze Airways Dispatch Center and the flight was diverted to Jacksonville International Airport. Flight crews say that Sims was pleased by the diversion and was “smirking” while other passengers appeared upset.
Upon landing, all passengers were required to exit the plane and bomb detection dogs were called in to search the plane. No bomb was located and Sims, as well as his travel companion, were detained at the airport during the ensuing investigation.
During an interview, Sims told authorities that he was making “jokes” about the plane “going down” because he was unfamiliar with the airline company and was nervous about flying. Sims told authorities that he wanted to get off the plane after his companion broke up with him and that he did not want to fly up to Rhode Island anymore.
According to the complaint, Sims said he did not say “bomb,” but instead, said “calm” and that other passengers had misconstrued what he had said.
Towards the conclusion of the interview, the complaint indicates that Sims asked “how [expletive] am I,” in reference to the criminal charges he was facing.
Sims is being charged with making false information and threats on a plane and faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison.