gwhunter69
07-17-2002, 11:12 AM
Military jets escort plane after passengers seen passing notes
By Associated Press, 7/17/2002 06:27
NEW YORK (AP) Military jets escorted a plane to LaGuardia Airport on Tuesday night after a passenger became alarmed by others passing notes, officials said.
Around 10:45 p.m., about 15 minutes before American Trans Air Flight 204 was due to arrive at LaGuardia from Chicago, a passenger told a flight attendant that seven other passengers were engaged in ''suspicious activity,'' passing notes to each other and changing seats, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey spokesman Alan Hicks said early Wednesday.
The flight attendant notified the pilot, who alerted federal aviation authorities. Two F-16 fighter jets escorted the plane a Boeing 757 with 98 passengers plus a crew to the ground, said Maj. Barry Venable, a spokesman for the North American Aerospace Defense Command.
The plane landed five minutes late, and no one was hurt.
The seven passengers, who are from India, were released early Wednesday, Port Authority officials said. They belonged to a well-known Indian performance group and may have been rehearsing or discussing a performance when they attracted suspicion, their New York host, Chiru Vijanam, told WNBC-TV.
Since Sept. 11, NORAD has scrambled fighters or diverted them from other missions more than 400 times to assist civilian aviation authorities, Venable said.
By Associated Press, 7/17/2002 06:27
NEW YORK (AP) Military jets escorted a plane to LaGuardia Airport on Tuesday night after a passenger became alarmed by others passing notes, officials said.
Around 10:45 p.m., about 15 minutes before American Trans Air Flight 204 was due to arrive at LaGuardia from Chicago, a passenger told a flight attendant that seven other passengers were engaged in ''suspicious activity,'' passing notes to each other and changing seats, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey spokesman Alan Hicks said early Wednesday.
The flight attendant notified the pilot, who alerted federal aviation authorities. Two F-16 fighter jets escorted the plane a Boeing 757 with 98 passengers plus a crew to the ground, said Maj. Barry Venable, a spokesman for the North American Aerospace Defense Command.
The plane landed five minutes late, and no one was hurt.
The seven passengers, who are from India, were released early Wednesday, Port Authority officials said. They belonged to a well-known Indian performance group and may have been rehearsing or discussing a performance when they attracted suspicion, their New York host, Chiru Vijanam, told WNBC-TV.
Since Sept. 11, NORAD has scrambled fighters or diverted them from other missions more than 400 times to assist civilian aviation authorities, Venable said.