Woman claiming to Be Student Charged in Logan Bomb Scare

A woman claiming to be a Harvard student was arraigned yesterday morning in an East Boston court after telling a worker at Logan International Airport Wednesday night that there was a bomb on board an American Eagle flight.

After missing a flight to New York that was scheduled to continue on to Taiwan, Tu Tzu Chang, 24, reported to an American Eagle agent that there was a bomb in her luggage, which was aboard the plane, police charged.

The plane returned to Logan, where state police searched the plane. However, officers found no explosives on board, according to Major Bill Kronin, the commanding officer of Troop F.

University spokesperson Joe Wrinn said court officials report that Chang claimed to be a Harvard student. Wrinn also said that Chang is not a student at Harvard.

Robert Ronquillo, a court-appointed lawyer who represented Chang at her bail hearing, said, "She is not claiming she's a Harvard University student. She's saying that she attended Harvard in the past."

When asked to specify exactly when Chang attended Harvard, Ronquillo said, "I want to say the summer school, but I can't be certain."

Change is not currently a student at any college in Boston, Ronquillo said.

Phil Orlandella, a spokesperson for Logan Airport, said Chang was worried that the inclement weather, which delayed flights all over the East Coast this week, would cause her to miss a flight to Taiwan.

"She had several conversations with American Eagle" before her flight to New York was scheduled to take off, Orlandella said.

However, Chang missed her flight to John F. Kennedy International Airport and subsequently returned to the American Eagle counter to ask for her luggage, Orlandella said.

When the agent told her it was aboard the plane, somewhere between Boston and New York, Chang "was a little disturbed," he said.

"She said she wanted her bag. She said, 'How do you know there's not a bomb in my bag?'" Orlandella said. "The agent asked her, 'Are you saying there's a bomb in your bag?' And she said, 'Yes,'" he charged.

Chang, who was arraigned this morning on charges of making false reports of an explosive device and disorderly conduct, was released on $2,500 bail.

Kronin said the Taiwanese citizen would appear in court after she returned from Taiwan, where she was visiting her mother, who is ill.

Amber L. Ramage contributed to the reporting of this story.