A first-class passenger sparked panic on board an Alaska Airlines flight to Seattle after threatening to blow up the plane if it didn’t divert, before admitting, he made up the hoax to avoid a Mexican cartel. 

Brandon L Scott, 38, handed a flight attendant a terrifying note while on board flight 334 from Atlanta to Sea-Tac Airport on July 5, according to a federal complaint. 

The hijacker scrawled his threat on the back of a receipt, warning the flight attendant he would ‘kill every soul on this plane’ if the plane landed at its intended destination. 

With 177 passengers unaware of the bomb threat, the pilot rerouted the plane to Spokane, where the fraudster was swiftly taken into custody and charged with false information and fraud. No explosives were found on board. 

He later told investigators he wanted to be arrested, claiming members of the notorious Sinaloa Cartel were waiting to torture him when he landed in Seattle. 

Scott is facing five years behind bars and a fine of up to $250,000 for the hoax, which came as he made several demands in his attempt to evade the alleged cartel members. 

When he handed the receipt to the flight attendant, Scott allegedly said he had stored the explosive above his seat in the first row, warning he would hit the detonator unless the pilot landed in ‘any other airport’, according to the complaint. 

‘There is a bomb on this plane,’ the note read. ‘This is not a joke. Several pounds of homemade explosives are in my carryon bag. I have a detonator with me. 

‘Handle this matter carefully and exactly how I say, otherwise I will detonate the explosives and kill everyone on board. 

‘You are to alert the pilot to this note and keep the issue to yourself. Many innocent lives are in your hands, do as I demand and everyone will live. Deviate and the consequences will be deadly for all of us. I have nothing left to lose.’ 

Scott, who has prior convictions for kidnapping and robbery, added that if the pilot agreed to change the destination, ‘I will refrain from detonating the bomb’. 

‘I repeat, if I see us land in Seattle, I will kill every soul on this plane,’ the note allegedly said, adding that he wanted the incident to ‘stay out of the news media until well after I have surrendered’. 

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