Last one for me tonight -- Flight Diverted by Explosive Scare
December 23, 2001
Flight Diverted by Explosive Scare
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 12:48 a.m. ET
BOSTON (AP) -- A passenger on a jetliner bound from Paris to Miami tried to
ignite an ``improvised explosive'' in his sneakers Saturday, but flight attendants
and fellow passengers subdued him, witnesses and authorities said. The plane,
escorted by military jets, landed safely in Boston.
The suspect, taken into custody by the FBI, was to be charged with interfering
with a flight crew, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on
condition of anonymity.
Authorities were investigating whether the man used a British passport with the
fake identity ``Richard Reid.'' An FBI official, who also spoke on condition of
anonymity, said the man was not of Middle Eastern descent, contrary to earlier
speculation.
After the man tried to light a fuse protruding from his shoe, a flight attendant
intervened and the 6-foot-4 suspect resisted and bit her, authorities said.
Passengers subdued the man, some taking off their own belts to secure him into
his seat, officials said. Two doctors used the airplane's onboard medical kit to
sedate him, and the man's shoe was removed.
``When he was attempted to be subdued, he said he was wired,'' said Thomas
Kinton, interim executive director of the Massachusetts Port Authority, which
runs the airport.
Passenger Eric Debry, 42, of Paris, said he reached over the seat and pulled
Reid's arms back.
``I jumped on his shoulder. Two other guys came and took his legs,'' said Debry,
adding some of the men held Reid down for 10 minutes while others collected
about 20 leather belts to restrain him.
Passenger Thierry Dugeon, 36, of Paris, said he was seated about 10 rows
behind the suspect, and estimated that five or six male passengers subdued him.
``I was there in five seconds, and there were already two or three guys on him. It
was like everybody knew what they needed to do,'' he said. ``It's pure instinct
because it goes so fast. You're not going to think twice.''
Philippe Acas, 39, of St. Quentin Enyvelines, France, said the passengers also
found two audio tapes in his possession and turned them over to the pilot.
The pre-Christmas incident was bound to increase anxiety among airline
passengers, many of whom have been reluctant to fly since the Sept. 11 terrorist
hijackings.
The government and airlines have taken steps to tighten security aboard planes,
including banning knives or other blades and increasing the number of passengers
whose luggage is searched.
On Dec. 11, the Federal Aviation Administration warned airlines of the possibility
of terrorist hijackings in the United States and Europe during the holidays, and
cautioned that hijackers could conceal weapons in their shoes, according to
sources who spoke on condition of anonymity. The sources did not say what
intelligence prompted the warning.
Two F-15 fighter jets escorted the plane, American Airlines Flight 63, to Logan
International Airport, where it landed at 12:50 p.m. with police, fire and bomb
squads standing by. The 185 passengers and 12 crew members were taken off
safely.
``They X-rayed the shoe and found that in the heel, there were holes drilled, and
there looked to be a detonator wire, and the substances consistent with (the
explosive) C-4,'' said Massport spokeswoman Laura White.
The shoe was rendered harmless and taken to an FBI lab, along with the man's
other shoe, officials said. Dugeon, the French passenger, described the shoes as
hightop-type basketball sneakers.
Kinton said a shoe contained an ``improvised explosive.'' But the FBI was
continuing to examine the substance to see whether it was an explosive,
according to a government official in Washington who spoke on condition of
anonymity.
The F-15s were ordered into the air by the Defense Department, which since
Sept. 11 has been in regular contact with the FAA.
White House officials monitored the situation throughout the afternoon and
President Bush received two briefings, spokesman Scott McClellan said.
Administration officials also consulted with acting Gov. Jane Swift's office.
``The flight attendants and passengers who helped subdue the suspect showed
great bravery and poise in what was obviously a very dangerous situation,'' Swift
said in a statement. ``Their heroic acts may have potentially saved the lives of the
nearly 200 people on board Flight 63.''
White said the man's passport, issued in Belgium three weeks ago, was
``questionable.'' He boarded the plane without luggage or additional identification
and was apparently traveling alone.
The suspect was interrogated at the airport by the FBI. Other passengers were
also questioned, White said, and the aircraft and luggage were searched. The
passengers were to be put on another flight to Miami, an airport spokesman said.
The intervention on the flight ``appeared to have prevented something very
serious from occurring,'' Kinton said.
An official with the British Foreign Office, who spoke on condition of
anonymity, said, ``We are seeking normal consular access as we would with any
U.K. citizen.''
C-4 is a military plastic explosive. Its main ingredient is RDX, which is also used
in fireworks. The whitish, puttylike substance can be easily molded by hand.
Although large amounts of C-4 can explode if they are burned, small amounts are
unlikely to be detonated without a blasting cap.
The explosive was used in the October 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen,
killing 17 U.S. sailors and wounding 39.
American Airlines spokesman Al Becker said that the plane was more than two
hours from Boston when the incident occurred.
``There are ways of checking documentation and making sure that all documents
are in order, and all of those systems and procedures were in place,'' he said.
Two of the Sept. 11 hijacked planes -- those that crashed into the World Trade
Center's north tower and the Pentagon -- were also operated by American
Airlines.
Saturday's incident did not interrupt any flights in or out of Logan.
Copyright 2001 The Associated Press |
