Bomb scare delays Spirit Airlines flight from Fort Lauderdale

A Spirit Airlines Flight 971 from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International to Dallas-Fort Worth was delayed over six hours when an overseen text message led to the evacuation of passengers.

According to the Broward Sheriff’s Office, as the flight boarded around 7:30 p.m. Sunday, a passenger reported seeing a text message on the phone of another passenger possibly referencing a bomb.

Both passengers were removed from the plane by BSO deputies, then interviewed by FBI agents.

The plane was inspected and cleared. No arrests were made.

This all pushed the flight’s departure from the scheduled 8:15 p.m. to 2:34 a.m. Monday, according to FlightAware.com. It landed at Dallas-Fort Worth at 4:04 a.m. local time.

This story was originally published October 31, 2016 at 5:46 AM with the headline "Bomb scare delays Spirit Airlines flight from Fort Lauderdale."