Breaking: Nigerian Removed from Same Flight As Christmas Attack
Another Nigerian man was taken into custody today aboard the same Northwest Airlines flight that was attacked on Christmas.
DETROIT — A passenger onboard the same Northwest Airlines flight that was attacked on Christmas Day was taken into custody in Detroit on Sunday after becoming verbally disruptive upon landing, officials said.
A law enforcement official said the man was Nigerian and had locked himself in the airliner’s bathroom. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing.
Delta Air Lines spokeswoman Susan Elliott said crew members requested that security remove the man from Flight 253 after he became disruptive. The remaining 255 passengers got off safely, she said. Airport spokesman Scott Wintner said it was the same flight on which a man tried to set off an explosive on Christmas Day.
UPDATE at 12/27/09 4:44:11 pm:
No terror attack this time — just someone being airsick: Sick Nigerian Prompts Security Alert in Detroit.
About a half hour later, the Homeland Security press secretary, Sara Kuban, released a statement, sorting out what had happened on the flight.
“A passenger on today’s Northwest flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit spent an unusually long time in the aircraft lavatory,” she said in the statement. “Due to this unusual behavior, the airline notified T.S.A. and the agency directed the flight to taxi to a remote area upon landing to be met by law enforcement and D.H.S.
“The passenger in question, a Nigerian national, was removed from the flight and interviewed by the F.B.I.; indications at this time are that the individual’s behavior is due to legitimate illness, and no other suspicious behavior or materials have been found. Though this does not appear at this time to be a security incident, in an abundance of caution, the aircraft was fully screened, with negative results, and all baggage is being rescreened before the aircraft taxis to the gate.”