Armed Officers Rushed Onboard Flight Forced to Land with Guns Drawn After 'Security Scare'
Southwest Airlines diverted a plane scheduled to fly from Nashville to Fort Lauderdale on Friday night due to an on-board incident.
Flight 2094 was diverted to Atlanta, where it landed shortly after 9 p.m., and a passenger was removed due to a “security scare,” according to WPEC-TV.
The FBI in Atlanta said on Saturday that “the FBI and APD have investigated and interviewed the person.”
“There was no credible threat and no charges will be filed,” the FBI said.
Nashville TV station WSMV-TV reported that the family of Julie Porter of Brentwood, Tennessee, was alerted that something was not right when flight attendants rushed around.
“They didn’t really tell us anything at all except that we were gonna be having an emergency landing at the nearest airport, which they didn’t even tell us where that was gonna be,” Julie’s daughter Sarah said.
“We had to find out ourselves, but there was just a lot of running,” she added.
The Porters said a man on the plane had issues with his bag being unable to fit under a seat, but noted that they did not hear whatever threats were allegedly made. The landing was an exercise in chaos, they said.
“The next thing we know, they’re just yelling at us, ‘Heads down, hands up. Heads down, hands up,’” Julie Porter said. “It was like five minutes, I would say at least, of just the flight attendants yelling that.”
Armed police then entered and removed one passenger.
“When I see guns drawn, I’m like, oh my gosh, is someone going to get shot?” Sarah Porter said. “Like, I was like, if someone doesn’t have their head down, like what happens to them?”
Southwest Airlines: “Flight 2094 landed safely at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) Friday evening after diverting to respond to a possible security matter,” a Southwest spokesperson said.
“We appreciate the professionalism of our Flight Crew and apologize… https://t.co/RFvSj0HC33 pic.twitter.com/NdfxJI1nwe
— GeoTechWar (@geotechwar) March 7, 2026
Passengers had to exit one by one as a K-9 unit checked their bags. Sarah Porter said it took four hours to empty the plane.
Passengers then boarded a different plane and arrived in Fort Lauderdale at about 3:30 a.m., according to WPEC.
Passengers aboard Southwest flight 2094 from Nashville to Ft. Lauderdale were told to keep their heads and hands down as the plane made an unplanned landing in Atlanta due to a “possible security matter.”
Atlanta police officers and federal agents boarded the plane to detain the… pic.twitter.com/Um3gSTo3DY
— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 7, 2026
“Southwest Airlines Flight 2094 landed safely at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) Friday evening after diverting to respond to a possible security matter,” Southwest said in a statement.
“We appreciate the professionalism of our Flight Crew and sincerely apologize to our Customers for the significant delay. Nothing is more important to Southwest than the Safety of its Customers and Employees,” the statement said.
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