Navy technician charged with making a false bomb threat on a Hawaiian Airlines flight
Electronics Technician 1st Class John Stea, 35, was arrested and charged with making a false bomb threat and false report of a security threat.
San Diego Harbor Police allege in a news release that Stea told a flight attendant on Hawaii Airlines Flight 15 that the passenger next to him had a bomb as the flight was getting ready to depart. The flight attendant told the captain about the potential threat, police said.
"Harbor Police reminds the public that maliciously reporting a false bomb threat is against the law and can result in fines and up to one year incarceration in county jail or state prison if convicted," police said.
The incident happened as the plane was about to leave San Diego International Airport for Honolulu, prompting the plane to taxi to a safe location and a search of the aircraft. The nearly 300 people onboard were deplaned and transported by bus to a secure area, police said.
The aircraft and all luggage were eventually cleared.
"The safety of the public and our personnel is of utmost importance to the Navy. We take all threats seriously and are cooperating fully with local and federal authorities," Lt. Mohammad N. Issa, deputy public affairs officer, Commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet, said in a statement.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NBC News
2 hours ago
- NBC News
U.S. Navy sailor convicted of espionage after selling secrets to Chinese intelligence officer
A U.S Navy sailor was convicted Wednesday of espionage after he sold Navy secrets to a Chinese intelligence officer, federal officials said. Jinchao Wei, a 25-year-old who also goes by Patrick Wei, was found guilty of six crimes, including conspiracy to commit espionage, espionage, and unlawful export of, and conspiracy to export, technical data related to defense articles in violation of the Arms Export Control Act and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. He was found not guilty of one count of naturalization fraud. Prosecutors said Wei used his position as a machinist's mate on the amphibious assault ship U.S.S. Essex at Naval Base San Diego to feed information to a Chinese intelligence officer who recruited Wei on social media in February 2022. He held a U.S. security clearance and had access to sensitive national defense information, including the weapons on the Essex, prosecutors said. Amphibious assault ships allow the military to project power and maintain presence by serving as the cornerstone of the Navy's amphibious readiness and expeditionary strike capabilities, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California said in a news release. His attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday. According to the news release, the intelligence officer initially presented himself as a naval enthusiast working for a shipbuilding company in China. However, evidence revealed that Wei had suspected the intelligence officer's true identity and motive. Prosecutors said Wei told a friend who was also in the Navy that he thought he was "on the radar of a China intelligence organization" and was "extremely suspicious" about the person. Wei told his friend that the person was "interested in the maintenance cycle of naval ships' and wanted Wei to walk the pier on a daily basis to see which ships were docked, according to the news release. Wei told his friend that the person would pay him $500. Although Wei told his friend that he believed it was 'quite obviously' espionage, Wei continued to communicate with the person on an encrypted messaging application and 'began spying for the intelligence officer," the attorney's office said. Between March 2022 and August 2023, when Wei was arrested, he sent photographs of the Essex, told the intelligence officer the location of various Navy ships and described the defense weapons on the Essex, the news release states. He also described problems with his ship and others and sent the intelligence officer "thousands of pages of technical and operational information about U.S. Navy surface warfare ships like the Essex that he took from restricted U.S. Navy computer systems," according to the release. The attorney's office said that in total Wei gave the intelligence officer about 60 technical and operating manuals about U.S. Navy ships, dozens of photographs, and papers about the U.S. Navy and Wei's assignments on the ship. Many of the manuals contained export-control warnings on the cover pages. In exchange for the information, Wei was paid more than $12,000 over 18 months. U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon said Wei's actions showed an "egregious betrayal of the trust placed in him as a member of the U.S. military." "By trading military secrets to the People's Republic of China for cash, he jeopardized not only the lives of his fellow sailors but also the security of the entire nation and our allies," he said in a statement. "The jury's verdict serves as a crucial reminder that the Department of Justice will vigorously prosecute traitors."
NBC News
9 hours ago
- NBC News
2 sailors injured in fire on U.S. warship in Japan, Navy says
A fire aboard a U.S. warship was declared extinguished early Thursday, 12 hours after it started off the coast of Okinawa, Japan, with two sailors being treated for minor injuries. The blaze on the USS New Orleans began around 4 p.m. Wednesday local time (3 a.m. ET) as the 684-foot amphibious transport dock ship was anchored near the White Beach Naval Facility, the U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet said in a statement. The cause of the fire remains under investigation, it said. Sailors battling the flames received assistance from the crew of the USS San Diego, a similar ship moored nearby, along with the Japanese military and coast guard. The Navy said the crew will remain on the USS New Orleans, which was commissioned in 2007 and can carry as many as 800 personnel. The incident comes five years after a devastating blaze consumed the USS Bonhomme Richard in San Diego, injuring more than 60 sailors and civilians. A sailor who was accused of intentionally setting fire to the $1.2 billion warship was acquitted in 2022. The fire, which burned for five days in July 2020, prompted a Navy investigation that found widespread failures in leadership and training.
Axios
12 hours ago
- Axios
U.S. Navy sailor convicted of spying for China in exchange for $12,000
A U.S. Navy sailor was convicted Wednesday of espionage and five other charges related to selling military secrets while on active duty to a Chinese intelligence officer who recruited him via social media, the Department of Justice announced. The big picture: The jury accepted prosecutors' allegations that Jinchao Wei, 25, was paid $12,000 over 18 months for selling "Navy secrets" while working as a machinist's mate on the amphibious assault ship, the USS Essex, at Naval Base San Diego, California, in 2023, per a DOJ statement. The 25-year-old who's also known as Patrick Wei was convicted of other charges including conspiracy to commit espionage and unlawful export of and conspiracy to export technical data related to defense articles. State of play: Wei held a U.S. security clearance and had access to sensitive national defense information about the ship's weapons, propulsion and desalination systems, the jury was told during the five-day trial. At the request of the intelligence officer, he had sent photos and videos of the Essex, "advised the officer of the location of various Navy ships, and described the defensive weapons of the Essex" from March 2022 until he was arrested after arriving for work in August 2023, prosecutors alleged. "Wei called his handler 'Big Brother Andy' and obliged requests to keep their relationship secret," per the DOJ. The San Diego resident utilized encrypted apps and other methods and used a new computer and phone provided by his handler, according to the evidence. Zoom in: The intelligence officer who recruited him in February 2022 initially portrayed himself as a naval enthusiast who worked for the state-owned China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, prosecutors said. "The evidence showed that even during the early days of his espionage career, Wei strongly suspected the intelligence officer's true identity and motive," the DOJ said. The China-born naturalized U.S. citizen told a Navy friend he thought he was "on the radar of a China intelligence organization" after the officer offered to pay him $500 and said he was "no idiot" and that "this is quite obviously f**king espionage," according to the DOJ. What they're saying: "The defendant's actions represent an egregious betrayal of the trust placed in him as a member of the U.S. military," U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon said in a statement. "By trading military secrets to the People's Republic of China for cash, he jeopardized not only the lives of his fellow sailors but also the security of the entire nation and our allies." For the record: A second sailor, who was arrested on the same day as Wei, was sentenced in January to 27 months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiring with a Chinese intelligence officer and receiving a bribe.
