Republic 3531 Declares Emergency into MSP after FAM Displays Weapon

[Airbubba]

An update to the earlier newspaper article with details from the liveatc.net feed as reported above on this thread.

Federal marshals removed from plane at MSP, cuffed; 1 of them 'flashed a gun'

Airport spokesman Patrick Hogan defended the airport officers' actions and spelled out in detail why they had no choice but to detain the men.

By Paul Walsh Star Tribune August 21, 2018 — 10:01pm

A federal air marshal “flashed a gun in flight,” prompting police to remove him from the plane upon arrival at the Twin Cities airport and handcuff him on the tarmac along with a fellow marshal, authorities said Tuesday.

The apprehensions occurred Monday night after the nonstop United Airlines Flight 3531 from Newark, N.J., landed at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, according to the federal Transportation Safety Administration (TSA).

The marshal was “on official business onboard a flight [and] was mistaken for a passenger by a flight attendant,” a TSA statement read. “Protocols for notification of law enforcement presence aboard an aircraft are in place to avoid incidents like this. TSA is working with the airline to determine the specific circumstances in this case.”

However, communication between the cockpit and the MSP control tower that was captured by the authoritative website Liveatc.net revealed that it was confirmed onboard fairly quickly that both men were federal air marshals, and one of them “actually showed our flight attendant his gun,” one of the pilots reported soon after landing.

“That is completely against SOP [standard operating procedure] for them to show their firearm,” the pilot added. “So that’s the reason we declared an emergency.”

Airport spokesman Patrick Hogan defended the airport officers’ actions and spelled out in detail why they had no choice but to detain the men and take them to the airport’s police station for questioning by the FBI.

“We know we have a call from the flight crew indicating a passenger flashed a gun in flight,” he said. “We contact the FBI (in-flight incidents are their jurisdiction) and make preparations to board the flight in a remote area when it lands. ... We then take the individuals to the police operations center for questioning by the investigating agency, the FBI, whose job it is to get to the bottom of who the individuals are and discern the facts behind the situation that led to the call for police help.

Federal marshals cuffed, removed from MSP plane after flash of gun - StarTribune.com