There was a big scare earlier today when US Airways Flight 787 was redirected from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Bangor, Maine, because a passenger was “acting suspiciously”. F-15 fighter jets raced at maximum subsonic speed to intercept the plane and had the pilot force-land in Maine. It was because a woman claimed she was surgically implanted with a device.
Everyone is OK for now, but the scare was caused by a French woman (born in Cameroon) who was travelling alone to the US. The flight had originated from Paris and was supposed to end up in Pittsburgh (after a stop in Charlotte). Mid-flight is when things got crazy as the woman slipped a note to an unsuspecting flight attendant saying she had been surgically implanted with a “device”. Doctors who were onboard Flight 787, which held 179 passengers and nine crew members, examined the woman but found no signs of recent surgery scars or wounds that would prove her claim. Taking no chance with the matter, the plane landed in Maine where local, state and federal officers met them.
It was a very scary situation. You can listen to the audio from the F-15 scramble, intercept and escort here. According to Alert New England, “SLAM’s are fighters, HUNTRESS is NORAD, TOI1 is AWE787”. The situation seems to have resolved itself with no one hurt. The woman, who was travelling alone for 10 days without checked bags, has been arrested. [@AlertNewEngland, NY Times, @mpoppel]