Free Republic

WASHINGTON - A plane bound for Washington from London was diverted to Maine on Tuesday after passenger Yusuf Islam — formerly known as pop singer Cat Stevens (news) — showed up on a U.S. watch list, federal officials said. United Airlines Flight 919 had already taken off from London en route to Dulles International Airport when the match was made between the passenger and the watch list, said Nico Melendez, a spokesman for the Transportation Security Administration. The plane was met by federal agents at Maine's Bangor International Airport around 3 p.m., Melendez said. Federal officials, speaking on condition of...

Watch List Passenger ID'd as Cat Stevens Tuesday, September 21, 2004 BANGOR, Maine — A passenger who was matched to a federal watch list, forcing a jetliner to be diverted, has been identified as singer-cum-Muslim convert Cat Stevens (search), according to federal officials. The plane bound for Washington, D.C., from London landed in Bangor Tuesday, authorities said. United Airlines (search) flight 919 had already taken off from London en route to Dulles International Airport when the match was made, according to Nico Melendez, a spokesman for the Transportation Security Administration.

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