Flight to Chicago diverted (landed at Bangor, Maine)

Chicago Tribune ^ | August 25, 2006

[jdm]

BANGOR, Maine -- A trans-Atlantic flight from Manchester, England, en route to Chicago was diverted to the Bangor International Airport on Friday, officials said.

American Airlines Flight 55, a Boeing 763, was diverted for security reasons, said Arlene Murray, New England regional spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration. She declined to elaborate.

Police confirmed that there was an incident at the airport but provided no details. Federal agents were at the airport, as well.

FBI spokeswoman Gail Marcinkiewicz declined to discuss the nature of the problem.

"We're responding to determine the cause of the diversion. It's going to take a number of hours for passengers to be interviewed," Marcinkiewicz said from Boston.

The Bangor airport is a popular place for international flights to touch down early due to mechanical problems, unruly passengers or security threats.

Bangor is the first large U.S. airport for incoming European flights, and it's the last U.S. airport for outgoing flights, providing a safety net for aircraft with uncluttered skies and one of the longest runways on the East Coast.

[reasonisfaith]

I agree that the way these events are taking place makes it appear as though some kind of intent is behind it.

If the pattern continues, it has the potential to adversely affect air travel and the overall economy. I say we get tough with the islamofascists.

[Mrs. Darla Ruth Schwerin]

Seems like the, terrorist folks are acting up, just enough not to get in trouble. Well, sounds like it's time to stop being sissies and listening to their sorry stories. Throw the little muskrats in jail for deliberately causing trouble on a flight. Then see how many stop their childish tactics...

[Irish Eyes]

Great cartoon. Borrowed hope you don't mind. My family is always flying and I seem to get more nervous each time.

[GretchenM]

I read on another post that to get a post into Breaking News all you need to do is type BREAKING into the keywords.

[STARWISE]

I sure tried ... posted it in breaking in the categories post form, and was about 20 mins. after someone posted the news (NOT in breaking).

Then I asked the mods to please put it in breaking.


Then I asked again.


Guess they're on a day off .. ;(


How many flights have had issues today? 4?

[GretchenM]

I lost count.

I put this on a related thread: I woke up at 7:47 this AM and decided that was as good of a reminder as anything to pray for all the airplanes coming and going to the US and to our allied nations.

[GretchenM]

It is in Breaking News now ... don't know how long it's been there.

[unixfox]

I say we get tough with the islamofascists.

You mean like ((( GASP ))) profile them?

That aint gonna happen though because we have a bunch of spineless wimps afraid they might hurt somebodys little feelings.

Screw feelings! Do something about the friggin problem already!!

[STARWISE]

JUST! Someone's watching ;)

[Deo volente]

The people on these planes who are causing this trouble need to be diverted to jail for a long time!

Please tell me they're not just going to be questioned for a few minutes, and then released.

[Txsleuth]

I don't know...but we need to find out..

I know they kept that crazy woman that caused the ruckus on the 16th in the flight from England to the USA...

[ClancyJ]

Looks like they are testing reaction to threats to find out how to adjust their attack. Many airports, different airlines, different itineries.

[IonImplantGuru]

Someone exhibited signs of increases flatulence ......

Perhaps Prince Philip? Royal flatulence?

[PA-RIVER]

I profile them every time Im on a plane, or even waiting to board. I see where they sit, then watch like a hawk.
I take a walk after the flight starts, do my profile check,
make a mental note if I see one.

If they get up out of the seat, I get up and watch.

I may go down, but I'll be ready to inflict some serious damage on any Jihad nazi.

We are all in this together. If I see a Jihad nazi boy in a fight with any passenger, I'll stop the fight ... by cracking Jihad nazi boys head with a good foot stomp. Hope people will do same for me.

[TimPatriot]

... by cracking Jihad nazi boys head with a good foot stomp. Hope people will do same for me.

...been ready since 9/11.

[prairiebreeze]

place marker

[ARealMothersSonForever]

Stick of dynamite found in checked luggage By KRISTEN HAYS, AP Business Writer
2 hours, 25 minutes ago



HOUSTON - A stick of dynamite was found in a college student's checked luggage on a Continental Airlines flight from Argentina, one of seven security incidents Friday that caused U.S. flights to be diverted, evacuated, searched or delayed.


Howard McFarland Fish, 21, was charged with carrying an explosive aboard an aircraft and was in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Federal authorities have determined that his actions were not acts of terrorism, ICE spokeswoman Luisa Deason said in a statement.

Houston Fire Department Assistant Chief Omero Longoria said Fish told authorities he works in mining and often handles explosives. Longoria said federal officials were investigating whether the explanation was true.

Bill Waldock, aviation safety professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Arizona, said the incident could have been disastrous and raises questions about security in overseas airports. Dynamite can be unstable if it's old, he added.

"You're in a pressurized airplane, you get a detonation in the cargo hold, it could blow a hole in the airplane big enough to bring it down," he said.

The dynamite was found during a luggage search in a federal inspection station at Bush Intercontinental Airport shortly after Flight 52 landed at about 6 a.m.

Marlene McClinton, spokeswoman for the Houston Airport System, said ICE officials and the FBI shut down the customs area and began questioning Fish, one of 173 passengers on the flight.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Houston said Fish, of Connecticut, would appear before a federal magistrate Monday. Carrying an explosive aboard an aircraft carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

Fish is a psychology student at Lafayette College in Easton, Pa., said Roger Clow, the college's director of communications. He declined to answer other questions about Fish, citing privacy concerns.

In other incidents:

_An American Airlines flight from England to Chicago was forced to land in Bangor, Maine, after federal officials "learned of a reported threat," FBI spokeswoman Gail Marcinkiewicz said. Some people on board said a fellow passenger was handcuffed and placed in a police car as they were leaving the jetliner.

Marcinkiewicz said no one was arrested but declined to say if anyone from the flight out of Manchester was in custody.

_A US Airways jet was diverted to Oklahoma City's Will Rogers World Airport after a federal air marshal subdued a disruptive passenger who had pushed a flight attendant, the FBI said.

The passenger was undergoing a mental evaluation, and authorities had yet to determine what criminal charges he might face. The twin-engine jet returned to flight three hours later on its trip from Phoenix to Charlotte, N.C.

_A Continental Airlines flight from Corpus Christi, Texas, to Bakersfield, Calif., was held in El Paso, one of its scheduled stops, after the crew discovered a missing panel in the lavatory, authorities said. Passengers were being screened and interviewed, Amy von Walter of the Transportation Security Administration said.

_A utility knife was found on a vacant passenger seat of a US Airways flight that had traveled from Philadelphia to Bradley International Airport in Connecticut, state police said.

No arrests were made and there were no threats involved, said Master Sgt. J. Paul Vance, state police spokesman. He said it was unknown Friday whether a worker inadvertently left the knife on the plane or a passenger brought it on.

_An Aer Lingus flight from New York to Dublin was evacuated Friday morning during a scheduled stopover in western Ireland following a bomb threat that turned out to be unfounded, officials said.

• A United Airlines flight out of Chicago's O'Hare International Airport was delayed because a small boy said something inappropriate, according to a government official speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information. "He didn't want to fly," the official said.

The Manchester-to-Chicago flight, American Airlines Flight 55, was diverted to Bangor for security reasons, Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Arlene Murray said.

The plane landed on a remote taxiway and passengers were taken by bus to a holding area, said airport manager Rebecca Hupp. State police provided bomb squad dogs, and local police provided additional assistance.

"The TSA learned of a reported threat to the aircraft while it was en route," TSA spokeswoman Andrea McCauley said, declining to give further details. FBI agents were interviewing passengers and crew, she added.

Marcinkiewicz, of the FBI, declined to elaborate on the source of the threat, or to say whether officials believed it to be legitimate.

Passengers said they had not seen any disruptions during the flight. Amy Chignell of Redditch, England, said she sat next to the man who appeared to be the subject of concern and did not see him do anything out of the ordinary, although he went to the restroom a few times.

Tom Roseberry of Seattle said passengers were told they were landing in Maine because a member of the crew was ill. But he said passengers began to suspect something else was going on when they saw a fighter jet zoom by.

___

Associated Press Writer Leslie Miller in Washington contributed to this story.

Commercial airlines will die a natural death. Most of us have been directed to fly charter from this point forward. It is really a shame.

[ARealMothersSonForever]

Hope people will do same for me.

You have no idea about how many of us have been doing this, and much more. You are welcome.

[redgolum]

I think they are suspecting something.

[jdm]

The guy with the dynamite on board claims he works in the mining industry and needed it for that reason.