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Uncle187

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#21
Dec 16, 2008
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#21
Drunken passenger forces flight diversion, F-16 escort

COLORADO SPRINGS - An AirTran flight heading to San Francisco from Atlanta was diverted to Colorado Springs Friday because of a passenger who was drunk.

Colorado Springs-based North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) launched two F-16 fighter jets once the captain reported the diversion of AirTran Flight 39.

The fighters launched at 11:44 a.m. and arrived over Colorado Springs Municipal Airport just as the AirTran flight landed around noon.

A spokesperson for the Colorado Springs Airport says Flight 39 was rerouted to its airport after a disruptive and unruly passenger locked himself in the bathroom. Airport officials say the man was intoxicated and the plane's captain made the decision to divert the plane.

After the plane landed, it was moved to a remote area of the airport.

When the plane landed, Colorado Springs Police officers with its airport unit removed and detained the man. His name has not been released.

AirTran released an official statement late Friday afternoon that said in part, "Law enforcement officials have detained the individual in question and the plane has been repositioned to a gate where it was searched by canine teams with negative results."

The statement continues, saying, "The FBI is on the scene and is overseeing the law enforcement response."

No additionally information, including arrangements for the 132 diverted passengers, was immediately released.

http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=130396&catid=339
 
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Uncle187

Member
#22
Dec 16, 2008
68
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#22
It's on CNN now...

(CNN) -- In the second such incident in three days, fighter jets escorted a diverted commercial flight on Friday after an unruly passenger caused alarm onboard.

The military sent up two F-16s in response to reports of an unruly passenger aboard AirTran Flight 39, the North American Aerospace Defense Command said in a statement.

The passenger had become belligerent and refused to leave the restroom, airline spokesman Tad Hutcheson told CNN Friday. The passenger appeared to be intoxicated, he said.

The flight, bound for San Francisco, California, left Atlanta, Georgia, at 9:48 a.m. ET, according to AirTran's Web site.

NORAD dispatched the fighters at 1:44 p.m. ET, escorting the aircraft to a safe emergency landing in Colorado Springs, Colorado, officials said. The passenger was detained there and FBI agents from Denver, Colorado, were called to question passengers, Hutcheson said.

The other passengers were scheduled to continue their trip at 4:30 p.m. ET, he said.

On Wednesday, NORAD escorted a Hawaii-bound plane back to its origination point of Portland, Oregon, when an unruly passenger in coach became "uncooperative," a Hawaiian Airlines official said.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/01/08/unruly.passenger/index.html
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