Officials Say Bad Joke Prompts Airport Evacuation

The airline passenger whose joke about a bomb caused authorities to shut down the main terminal at Alaska's largest airport is a Colorado man who was in Anchorage to referee a college hockey game.

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by Associated Press

Story Created: Oct 15, 2012 at 9:58 PM AKDT

Story Updated: Oct 15, 2012 at 11:26 PM AKDT

ANCHORAGE - The airline passenger whose joke about a bomb caused authorities to shut down the main terminal at Alaska's largest airport is a Colorado man who was in Anchorage to referee a college hockey game.
   
44-year-old Peter Friesema was charged Sunday with disorderly conduct.
   
The incident began late Saturday night after a hockey tournament at the University of Alaska Anchorage.
   
Airport officials say Friesema checked in at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport and saw a ticket agent put his baggage sticker on a friend's luggage.
   
Airport officials say Friesema remarked that his friend's bag had a bomb in it. They took the comment seriously and evacuated the terminal.
   
Friesema was arrested after he passed through security. The terminal reopened after about three hours.

 
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