23 May 2012

Trans-Atlantic flight escorted by jets

8:08 am on 23 May 2012

Two fighter jets were scrambled in the United States to escort a trans-Atlantic flight that was diverted after concern a passenger was behaving suspiciously.

The plane was due to land in Charlotte, North Carolina, but was diverted by more than 1400km to Bangor, Maine, on Tuesday.

It landed there safely and was met by state and federal law enforcement officers.

The US Airways flight, with 179 passengers and nine crew, had come from Paris.

The Transport Security Administration said it was diverted out due to an abundance of caution.

US media report that a passenger gave flight crew a note saying that she had a surgically implanted device.

According to CNN, the woman was from Cameroon and had boarded with no luggage.

The FBI declined to say whether anyone was in custody.

The plane is now scheduled to leave Maine for Charlotte on Tuesday afternoon.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command confirmed it scrambled two F-15 fighter jets in response to the incident, but gave no further details.