A passenger on a jetliner bound from Paris to Miami tried to ignite an "improvised explosive" in his sneakers, 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, a law enforcement official said after Saturday's incident.
PHOTO: AP
Authorities were investigating whether the man used a British passport with the fake identity "Richard Reid." An FBI official 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 1.93m 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.
"We weren't afraid," passenger Josse Bernadett said. "He looked like a junkie. I don't think he was a terrorist."
The incident, coming at the start of the busy travel weekend before Christmas, 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 US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) warned airlines of the possibility of terrorist hijackings in the US 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 12:50pm 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 taken from the 767 jetliner, rendered harmless and taken to an FBI lab, along with the man's other shoe, officials said. A 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 US President George W. Bush received two briefings, spokesman Scott McClellan said.
"The investigation is ongoing and we are continuing to monitor events with the FBI and others involved," McClellan said.
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 being interrogated at the airport by the FBI. The other passengers also were questioned, White said, and the aircraft and luggage were searched. The passengers then boarded another American Airlines flight to Miami just before 1am yesterday. The plane landed in Miami around 6am, American said.
"People are very tired," said Peter Ensink, a 35-year-old Swiss salesman and one of 185 passengers onboard the plane. "This will be the best Christmas ever."
"I don't care. I'll fly again," said nine-year-old Azner Dahan.
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 UK 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.
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