Airline passenger arrested after claim of bomb in luggage

Marina Verbitsky arrived

her terminal in Florida’s Fort Lauderdale-hollywood International Airport on Monday night with her husband and son, but they were too late: The plane was about to take off.

Verbitsky told an airline employee she needed to get on the plane because her son had school, a relative said. But when told it was too late to board the flight, she began berating Jetblue employees with profanities, according to a police report. When employees said her checked luggage was on the departing plane, Verbitsky allegedly became more enraged.

That’s when she told airline workers her luggage contained a bomb, officials say.

Verbitsky, 46, was swiftly arrested, the Broward Sheriff ’s Office said in a statement Tuesday. The plane’s takeoff was delayed, and passengers were escorted off before authorities scoured the aircraft for a bomb. They found nothing. Verbitsky is now facing a charge of false reporting concerning planting a bomb, explosive or weapon of mass destruction, according to the sheriff ’s office. Her bail was set at $10,000, and a judge ordered her to undergo a mental health evaluation, the Chicago Sun-times reported. Verbitsky posted bail on Tuesday.

“It was a mistake,” a relative of Verbitsky, who requested not to be named, told the Sun-times. “She was nervous about the son needing to go to school. It was a mess but it was definitely not meant to be.”

Verbitsky did not respond to phone messages late Wednesday. Court records do not list an attorney.