Hawaiian Air jet evacuated, passenger arrested after possible bomb threat: Officials

One person was arrested Tuesday following reports of a possible bomb threat on a Hawaiian Airlines flight set to take off from San Diego International Airport, leading to the evacuation of the plane, officials said.

John Stea, a 35-year-old member of the military, was charged with making a false bomb threat and false report of a security threat after he allegedly told a flight attendant that the person next to him had a bomb, according to the Port of San Diego Harbor Police Department. He was never booked into jail because the charges against him are misdemeanors.

A U.S. Navy public affairs officer confirmed to NBC 7 that Electronics Technician 2nd Class Stea is assigned to Maritime Expeditionary Security Group One and that he was released to the Navy.

"The safety of the public and our personnel is of utmost importance to the Navy," Navy spokesperson Lt. Mohammad N. Issa said. "We take all threats seriously and are cooperating fully with local and federal authorities."

Flight HA15, an Airbus A330, was bound for Honolulu and had just pushed back from the gate around 8:45 a.m. Tuesday when “a flight attendant informed the flight’s captain that a passenger reported a possible bomb onboard,” according to a statement from Harbor police.

The captain called police, and SWAT officers and the FBI responded to search the aircraft. Nothing suspicious was found, and there was no threat to travelers, the police statement said.

Hawaiian Airlines said in a statement that “a guest was overheard making a threat to the safety of our aircraft” and the captain alerted authorities as a precaution.

"As a precaution, the captain immediately taxied the Airbus A330 to a safe location on the airfield, where it was met with local and federal law enforcement, and guests were safely deplaned," a statement from Hawaiian Airlines read.

Harbor police said their agency responded with a SWAT team, a K-9 search team and the Joint Terrorism Task Force. The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department and the FBI also responded as 283 passengers and 10 crew members left the aircraft.

At around 11 a.m., video from SkyRanger 7 showed dozens of emergency vehicles on the tarmac near the plane, including patrol cars and unmarked black SUVs.

A rolling staircase stood at the front of the Hawaiian Airlines jet with the front cabin door open nearby. A trio of airport shuttle buses was parked nearby and departed the area around 11:10 a.m., presumably with passengers.

The FBI said investigators determined the threat was not credible and there was no viable threat to public safety.

"We continue to urge the public to remain vigilant and report all suspicious activity to law enforcement immediately," the FBI said.

The unofficial flight tracking site, FlightAware, showed minimal delays and only one cancellation at the San Diego airport as of 10:30 a.m. A spokesperson for SAN confirmed flight operations were normal and other departing flights were not affected.

In the mid-afternoon, the aircraft was reboarded and the flight resumed, taking off for the capital city of Hawaii at about 2:15 p.m., an official said.

Harbor police are continuing to investigate what happened and will give the case to the city attorney in the coming days to decide how to prosecute it.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Editor's note: The U.S. Navy previously confirmed the suspect's rank as 1st Class.