Washington-Bound Plane Diverted After Passenger Disruption
Posted August 16, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A flight that left London’s Heathrow Airport bound for Washington, D.C. Wednesday was diverted to Boston after the pilot declared an emergency.
United Flight 923 landed safely at Boston’s Logan Airport following what’s being reported as a passenger disturbance aboard the aircraft.
A federal security official has since said that there’s no indication of terrorism. George Naccara of the Massachusetts airport’s Transportation Security Administration said a female passenger was claustrophobic and became upset. The pilot decided to land after the woman got into a confrontation with the flight crew.
A spokesperson for the Boston hub said the woman had suspicious items in her possession including petroleum jelly, a screwdriver, matches and a note referencing terrorist organization al-Qaida.
Heathrow has been the subject of increased security measures since 24 people were arrested around London last week in connection with an alleged plot to blow up 10 commercial airplanes travelling from Britain to the United States.
The 182 passengers and 12 crew members on the flight to Washington left the plane via a flight of stairs and walked out onto the runway. Their luggage was spread out on the tarmac and bomb-sniffing dogs were brought in to detect anything suspicious.
State police and federal officials took control of the jet after it landed, and all carry-on luggage was checked as passengers left the plane.
