Washington - A United States Airways flight from Paris to Charlotte, North Carolina, was diverted to an airport in Maine where it landed safely after reports of a passenger showing “suspicious behaviour”, US officials said on Tuesday.
Two fighter jets were scrambled in response to the incident on US Airways flight 787, which landed safely in Bangor, Maine.
House Homeland Security chairperson Peter King said a female passenger, who was a French citizen born in Cameroon, handed a note to a flight attendant saying she had a surgically implanted device.
“Doctors on the flight checked her out and did not see any sign of recent scars. The woman was born in Cameroon, was travelling alone without any checked baggage. She was visiting the US for 10 days,” King said.
The Transportation Security Administration said in a statement that it was “aware of reports of a passenger who exhibited suspicious behaviour during flight” and was questioning the passenger.
The airline said the flight's Boeing 767 aircraft was carrying 179 passengers and nine crew members and landed without incident around noon US Eastern time. The flight departed Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris earlier on Tuesday morning.
The North American Aerospace Defence Command, or NORAD, said it had scrambled two F-15 fighter jets in response to the incident, but gave no further details.
US Airways said the other passengers were cleared to board the flight to go to their original destination in North Carolina. - Reuters