Woman told to repay airline for diversion

NEW YORK, Sept. 3 (UPI) -- A New York judge ordered a disgruntled airline passenger who falsely claimed to have a bomb in her bag to pay JetBlue the cost of making an emergency landing.

Rosalinda Baez, 31, could also be sentenced to six months in jail, the New York Post reported. Restitution for the diverted flight will cost her $23,000.

Baez was arrested in April at Kennedy International Airport after she arrived on a flight from Costa Rica. She missed a connecting flight to Austin, Texas, which left with her luggage on board.

She asked an airline employee to make the plane come back with her bag and then asked what would happen if there was a bomb in her bag. Finally, she allegedly said that there was a bomb in the bag.

The plane made an emergency landing in Richmond, Va.

At a hearing Tuesday in front of a federal magistrate in Brooklyn, Baez pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana. Charges involving the bomb threat were dropped.