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Disruptive Passenger in Custody After Disturbance on Amsterdam-Detroit Flight
Will add details as they come inSeveral police vehicles and a police command unit have surrounded a plane at Detroit's Metro Airport, after the pilot of a Detroit-bound Northwest Airlines flight requested emergency help. Metro Airport spokesman John Witner said there was a report of suspicious activity on the Delta/Northwest flight 253 from Amsterdam Sunday. That is the same flight number as the flight that a Nigerian man was suspected of attempting to blow up over Detroit on Christmas Day. All 257 passengers and 12 crew have deplaned safely, said Delta spokeswoman Susan Elliott. The flight landed safely in Detroit at 12:34 p.m. Sunday. The flight crew requested that law enforcement meet the aircraft after a passenger on the plane became verbally disruptive, said Elliott. The Associated Press reported that the incident lead to the arrest of a Nigerian man, who is now in custody. 2:00 CST update: Two sources tell Fox News that the suspect boarded a plan in Lagos with no baggage, and said the FBI has already sent an email alert to other federal agencies notifying them of the incident. 2:21 CST update: White House spokesman Bill Burton said President Obama was notified of the disturbance Sunday as federal officials began reviewing airline security measures. "The President was notified shortly after 9:00 a.m. Hawaiian time of the incident regarding an unruly passenger on the flight arriving in Detroit by NSS chief of staff Denis McDonough," Burton said. "The President stressed the importance of maintaining heightened security measures for all air travel and gave instructions to set up another secure teleconference briefing as soon as possible." 2:52 CST update: The official says the passenger was taken into custody after becoming verbally disruptive on landing. Subsequent interviews by investigators determined he was a businessman who became ill during the flight. A source confirmed this report to Fox News, saying the passenger was indeed sick and that the incident appears to be "a non-event at this point." A federal law enforcement official said the man, who was from Nigeria, was interviewed by authorities and the aircraft was swept. But the official said the incident was all an incredible coincidence. A federal law enforcement official told Fox News that it "looks like a non-serious incident at this point. Early indications are that this person is not a threat." Posted by: Sherry 2009-12-27 |
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