posted 10-11-2001 04:19 AM
This is more on the Atlanta/L.A. flight;
(It also mentions some other incidents but I haven't located the Chicago story, I thought I heard it was also escorted by F-16's. One of these involves a Chicago man from on a flight from Israel, but it's not the story of the plane forced to land in Chicago with the mentally disturbed man and his father.)
A Delta Airliner Is Diverted With Military Escort
By DAVID FIRESTONE
ATLANTA, Oct. 10 — A Delta Air Lines jet flying from Atlanta to Los Angeles was escorted by military jets to an unscheduled landing in Shreveport, La., today after a man handed an intimidating note to a flight attendant, federal authorities said.
The plane, a Boeing 757 carrying 139 passengers and seven crew members, was escorted to Shreveport Regional Airport by two F-16 jets that scrambled from New Orleans at the pilot's request, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration said.
James Cowles, an assistant United States attorney for the Western District of Louisiana, said the passenger — Edward Stephenson, 37, of Los Angeles — would be charged with interference with a flight crew, a federal offense. Mr. Stephenson was being held in a county jail tonight and will be given a mental evaluation, Mr. Cowles said.
Bill Flanagan, the United States attorney, said the note, in garbled language, disagreed with an announcement made by the pilot that the plane would take a different flight path because of bad weather. Mr. Cowles said any note that interfered with an aircraft's operation, whether or not it contained an explicit threat, could be considered intimidating under federal statutes.
Mr. Cowles said the pilot considered the note sufficiently disturbing to call for the escort and make the unscheduled landing. He said there was no physical disturbance on the plane.
Matthew Minard/The Shreveport Times
Delta Flight 357 waited on Wednesday at the gate at the Shreveport, La., airport, where it was diverted and landed under escort from two fighter planes. A man had handed an intimidating note to a flight attendant.
The flight, Delta 357, left Atlanta at 2:35 p.m. and reported the disturbance 68 minutes later, said Roland Herwig, a spokesman for the F.A.A. It landed in Shreveport at 4:11 p.m. (Eastern time) and was met by local police, National Guard troops, and F.B.I. agents, who arrested Mr. Stephenson. The plane was searched, and then resumed its flight to Los Angeles at 5:43 p.m.
The episode was among several in recent days showing a heightened sense of vigilance.
This morning, a Chicago man flying from Israel was arrested at Newark International Airport after a flight attendant said he drew the plastic knife that came with his food across his neck while eyeing her, the F.B.I. said.
The crew alerted the authorities, and the man, Yassin Yaser, was arrested upon landing and charged with disorderly conduct. When questioned, the man first said he was scratching his neck, then said that he was joking and that his conduct was stupid, the complaint said.
Last Thursday, a Delta flight headed to Ronald Reagan National Airport from Dallas was refused permission to land because air traffic controllers said the crew had not properly executed a new security procedure, aviation officials said.
Officials would not give details about the procedure, except to say that it involved radio messages.
The plane was ordered to go to Dulles International Airport in Virginia instead.
[Edited 3 times, lastly by defender on 10-11-2001]
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