A 52-year-old Alaskan faces a felony charge of second-degree terroristic threatening after allegedly telling police that the next plane to take off from Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport would explode.
Joe E. Cunningham placed the call to the Anchorage Police Department around 9 p.m. Oct. 11, according to charging documents filed in Anchorage District Court. Flights were grounded for approximately 20 minutes while authorities investigated the threat, and charging documents state police were able to identify the caller’s phone number and trace the phone to the area of Spenard Road and Aviation Avenue.
Police located Cunningham, and said he was in possession of the phone used to place the threatening call.
He also had a no-bail arrest warrant for violating a protective order, and a probation violation warrant stemming from a first-degree attempted burglary charge, according to charging documents.