SEATAC, Wash. – Prosecutors say the man accused of causing a bomb scare that disrupted flights arriving at Sea-Tac Airport Wednesday admits calling in three bomb threats.

Doctor Kou Wei Chiu is charged with one count of false information and threats. Court papers say Chiu arrived late for his flight to Memphis Wednesday. He faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted.

"He was late for his airplane, was denied boarding and got upset about that and called in a false bomb threat.  Actually, three of them," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Lang.

Court paperwork shows after arguing with a gate employee, Chiu, 31, went to a pay phone in the terminal, dialed 911 and told the operator, quote: "Flight 980 Memphis, there may be a bomb on board."

When he did not see the plane return to the gate, prosecutors allege Chiu called 911 two more times.

"There was a gentleman, a civilian, who was at the airport who overheard him talking on the telephone," said Lang. "When police arrived in response to the 911 call the civilian reported, 'That's the guy' over there who made these calls."

Court papers say an officer approached Chiu and, quote: "Asked Chiu if he made the threats." Chiu replied "Regrettably, yes I did."

Chiu has apparently given a full confession, telling authorities he is on anti-depressant medication but has been without it for several days while in Seattle on business.  Because of that admission, he has spent most of the time since his arrest in the psych ward of the King County Jail.

Chiu lives in a suburb of Nashville, Tenn.  He is married, and according to his lawyer, eager to return to his family.  Chiu is a doctor at a Nashville clinic and is fluent in both Chinese and Spanish.

Chiu faces a detention hearing Friday afternoon, during which a judge will set conditions of his release.

Widespread confusion at Sea-Tac

During Wednesday's bomb scare at Sea-Tac Airport, there was widespread confusion on how to handle the situation.

Initially, authorities thought the suspect did not have a bag on board and that the plane should be allowed to continue on without delay. Authorities later determined the suspect had a companion on the jet, so the plane was turned around and landed at 1:15 p.m.

Once the plane landed, pilots parked it in away from the concourse as bomb-sniffing dogs swept the jet.

More than two hours after the plane landed, the passengers were still sitting inside the Airbus A320 while federal and local authorities tried to figure out what to do next. They debated whether passengers should be allowed to bring their carry-ons onto buses that would take them back to the terminal.

"What was interesting was that everything was okay, but we're sitting on the tarmac and there are cop cars everywhere, and then the fire trucks sitting there and people were wanting off," said one passenger. "We didn't know what was going on. We were thinking there are something more to this and nobody told us."

Around 3 p.m., passengers were taken off the plane and all luggage was removed so bomb-sniffing dogs could search for any traces of explosives.

About an hour later, Betancourt said police confirmed there was no bomb on board after the dogs had checked all the bags and the aircraft.

Three hours after landing, a TSA spokesperson didn't even know the plane had taken off in the first place.

"In this instance it hadn't taken off yet, so we were able to bring it back," said TSA spokesperson Jennifer Peppin.

Passengers were given the option of rebooking if they did not feel comfortable getting back on the plane, Northwest spokesman Roman Blahoski said. The plane finally departed for Memphis - for the second time - at 5:14 p.m.

Two women believed to be traveling with the man were removed from the plane and taken into custody.

The man was taken to a holding facility at the airport police department's headquarters. He initially said he had no luggage on the aircraft, then later told authorities he had checked luggage under someone else's name.