BANGOR, Maine (AP) — Officials diverted a US Airways jet to Maine after a French passenger traveling from Paris to North Carolina handed a note to a flight attendant mentioning that she had a surgically implanted device, prompting concerns about possible terrorism.
There is no evidence the plane was ever in danger on Tuesday, officials said. However, the FBI and Homeland Security Department warned airlines last summer that terrorists are considering surgically hiding bombs inside humans to evade airport security.
Two doctors aboard the plane examined the passenger, a French citizen born in Cameroon, and found that she had no scars or incisions, said U.S. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who was briefed by Transportation Security Administration chief John Pistole.
“We have seen intelligence identifying surgically implanted bombs as a threat to air travel,” said Collins, the ranking Republican on the Homeland Security Committee.
Two F-15 fighters scrambled to escort Boeing Flight 787 with 179 passengers and nine crew members to Bangor International Airport, where it landed shortly after noon. The TSA issued a statement saying the passenger’s suspicious behavior warranted the unscheduled stop.
“We saw lots of police and federal customs people take a woman off the plane in handcuffs,” said Stuart Frankel of Baltimore. “People were amazed at what was going on. We didn’t know what was happening until we landed.”
The flight was about 40 minutes away from Bangor when local officials were alerted. After landing, it taxied to a remote part of the airport where law enforcement officials removed the passenger, said Tony Caruso, acting airport manager.
Frankel said passengers had been advised to keep their shades down during a movie, so they didn’t realize fighter jets had been dispatched to intercept the flight. There were a couple of calls on the overhead speakers for doctors, but that didn’t seem especially unusual, he said.
Eventually, the pilot advised them that the jet needed to land for fuel in Maine.
William Milam from Richmond, Va., said he’d spoken French with the woman and helped her get her luggage into an overhead bin.
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