NJ Man Claimed He Had Bomb In Bag At FL Airport: Officials

PALM BEACH, FL — A Salem County man is charged with making a bomb threat before a flight from Florida to Philadelphia, officials said.

John R. Magee, 66, of Carneys Point was aboard a Frontier Airlines flight scheduled to leave Tuesday evening from Palm Beach International Airport, said investigators. A witness told the Palm Beach County Sheriff's department that the passenger in seat 5B (later identified as Magee) mentioned having a bomb in his bag.

The flight was scheduled to leave at 5:04 p.m. Deputies escorted Magee off the plane and asked him if he said anything he shouldn't have while boarding, court records show. Magee said no, then stated, "I didn't say any dumb s--t like blowing up a plane." The deputy who filed the probable cause affidavit with Magee's arrest did not say anything about a bomb threat, he noted.

Another passenger said she saw Magee slamming "a large bag" onto the ground on the jet bridge, court records state. The woman told deputies she overheard him say "you don't know what you're in for" and "I have a bomb in the bag," according to records.

The woman standing behind him on the jet bridge told a flight attendant, according to records.

Officials charged Magee with making a false threat concerning a bomb, which is a second-degree felony. He has posted a $30,000 bond.

FBI agents and PBSO detectives evacuated all people in the plane and Concourse C to the terminal area while they searched, and found no explosives, per the sheriff's office. The concourse was shut down for several hours and caused flight delays, according to WPTV in Palm Beach.

Magee denied making the threat when WPTV spoke to him after he posted bond. He is allowed to return to NJ and must check in with the court, records show.