A Call of Duty FaceTime Chat Got Mistaken for a Bomb Threat and Evacuated a California Airport
A Frontier Airlines flight and part of a Southern California airport terminal were evacuated Sunday evening after a passenger overheard someone talking about a bomb mid-flight prep, only for police to determine the whole thing was actually about a Call of Duty match playing out over FaceTime.
What Happened at Ontario International Airport
The incident unfolded on the evening of Sunday, November 8, aboard a Frontier Airlines flight that was preparing to depart Ontario International Airport in California’s Inland Empire. A fellow passenger overheard part of a conversation and reported it to the flight crew, who alerted authorities. The Ontario Police Department responded to the gate at around 10 p.m.
“He had a bomb in his backpack.”
What the passenger reported overhearing, according to the Ontario Police Department
Out of caution, officers had the plane evacuated and cleared the east side of Terminal 2 while they investigated. The Ontario Fire Department and a bomb squad also responded within minutes, and a bomb sniffing K9 team was brought in to sweep both the aircraft and the surrounding area.
The Call of Duty Explanation
Police located and questioned the man responsible for the remarks, confirming he was carrying only a backpack and no other luggage. Under questioning, he explained that he had been on a FaceTime call with a friend who was playing Call of Duty and had just been wiped out by an in-game C4 charge, which is what prompted the talk of a bomb and an explosion that the other passenger picked up on. Investigators even called the friend on the other end of the line, who corroborated the story, and determined that no crime had taken place.
Reports didn’t specify which Call of Duty title was being played. Pictured here for illustration is Modern Warfare 4, the series’ current mainline release, whose campaign was well received by critics at launch.
No Charges, and the Flight Eventually Took Off
The sweep of the plane and the surrounding grounds turned up no explosives or other suspicious devices. Every passenger aboard the original flight, including the man who had been detained, was ultimately allowed to reboard once the investigation wrapped up. An airport spokesperson confirmed the incident was limited to the one passenger, that the east side of Terminal 2 was cleared purely out of caution while flights were held, and that normal operations resumed once the investigation was complete. The flight went on to depart later that night.
It’s not the first time Call of Duty chatter has been mistaken for something far more serious. Gaming outlets have previously reported on a case where neighbors called armed police to a home after overhearing a family shouting about guns and killing during a heated session, which also turned out to be nothing more than enthusiastic gameplay. As with that earlier case, nobody involved in Sunday’s airport scare was hurt or charged, though it did cost a planeload of travelers a long, unplanned detour through airport security.
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Picture Source: Activision
