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Suspect in diverted Delta flight used to be in Air Force
A man detained after claiming he had explosives on a trans-Atlantic flight Tuesday served in the U.S. Air Force as an intelligence specialist for four years, Air Force officials said. Delta Air Lines Flight 273, which was heading from Paris, France, to Atlanta, Georgia, was diverted to Bangor, Maine, on Tuesday afternoon after the man made the explosives claim, law enforcement officials said.Two law enforcement officials identified the passenger as Derek Stansberry of Florida. He held the rank of senior airman and was on active duty from June 2005 to June 2009, according to Air Force officials. Federal air marshals on board the flight took Stansberry into custody, Delta spokeswoman Susan Elliot said. In addition to explosives, Stansberry claimed he had false documents, the law enforcement officials said. Investigators had found no explosives so far, they said. Stansberry was not flagged on any databases, they said. The FBI is leading the investigation with assistance from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Transportation Security Administration and the Bangor Police Department, the officials said. Stansberry trained at Goodfellow Air Force Base in San Angelo, Texas, and also was stationed at Hurlburt Field in Okaloosa County, Florida, according to Air Force officials. He served in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to service records. Passengers said they were unaware of any disruption, but that the flight crew moved all the passengers forward in the partially filled cabin. The jet landed in Maine at about 3:30 p.m. ET. Posted by: Steve White 2010-04-28 |
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