Fighters following Air India to JFK

[polzin]

Just on the radio that Canadian fighters are following an Air India flight to JFK. I dont have cable so cant verify it on the TV. Reason given was that there is a suspicious person on board.

[Iron City]

This from MSNBC Breaking news

AGENTS FROM THE FBI’s New York office told NBC News that they planned to meet Flight 101, en route from London, when it arrived at the airport on Thursday afternoon at approximately 5:05 p.m. ET. . . “There may be a guy on there that we may want to talk to,” one FBI official told NBC News.. . The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, denied initial reports suggesting there had been a disturbance on the aircraft and said agents planned to meet it as a precaution.. . The North American Air Defense Command also said it was monitoring the flight as it crossed the Atlantic Ocean.. . The official cautioned that the identification of the male passenger as being on the list meant to detect terrorists could be a case of mistaken identity. . . The official said someone in London noticed that a man’s name on the manifest was similar to a name on the U.S. government watch list. But the FBI spokesman noted that the spelling on the manifest was not identical to the name on the watch list. . . Representatives of Heathrow Airport in London said they had received several media calls concerning Flight 101, but they had no information indicating there was a problem with the flight.

[Airbubba]

I can see AI 101 at 2000 feet a few miles from JFK on the FAA computer. Should be on the ground in about five minutes.

[Bubbette]

Apparently, a screener at Heathrow, after. .the plane takes off, decides there's someone suspicious on board. And then they scramble the Canadian and US fighters.

[ 28 February 2002: Message edited by: Bubbette ]</p>

[AtlPax]

[quote] . . . Canadian fighters are following an Air India flight to JFK. <hr></blockquote>

Canadian fighters in US airspace! I love it! :) :) :)

[New York Pilot]

As per the media, FBI and other official sources here in New York advise it was a case of mistaken identity and now believe the screener at Heathrow made the whole thing up, perhaps, due to a possible unrelated altercation with the pax.

The pax name, face, identity or profile did not even come close to any individual on a terrorist watch list and he is not a suspect and will be released with out further delay at JFK.

[Rollingthunder]

The AI 74 was in Cdn airspace when intercepted and shadowed by CF18s co-ordinating with Norad. There was a hand over to US fighters as it entered US airspace.

[avt100]

The official Press release:

US alert over Air India flight

FBI agents were waiting for the flight to land

An Air India airliner that US security officials said was carrying a suspicious passenger has landed safely at New York's JFK airport after being shadowed by fighter jets on its way from London.

I have no information that would indicate that it's hijacked or anything like that . . . .Canadian Defence Minister Art Eggleton . .Authorities said they wanted to interview a passenger after a security screener at Heathrow airport reported one of the names of the people on Flight 101 matched a name on a terrorist watch list.

Two US fighter jets escorted the plane into JFK at 1645 EST (2145 GMT). It landed without incident and taxied to an isolated area of the airport followed by police and fire engines.

Air security officials have been on alert since 11 September last year, when hijackers flew jets into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, killing about 3,000 people.

Officials said there was no disturbance and no fear of a hijacking on the Air India flight, which started its journey in Bombay and was thought to be carrying about 400 people.

The Boeing 747 passenger jet had been shadowed from a distance, not escorted, so that passengers would not be unduly alarmed, officials said.

False alert?

The FBI said it wanted to check the identity of the passenger and that it may turn out to be a false alert because of a similarity in names.

Reports say the man in question is British with an Arabic name travelling with an Irish woman.

The alert appears to have been raised after the plane departed from Heathrow, and the flight was left to continue on its scheduled route, said the BBC's Washington correspondent Jon Leyne.

A US government official said the screener in London thought one of the passengers resembled someone on a list given to civil aviation authorities of suspected terrorists and others who are not allowed on aeroplanes.

The man in question was travelling under a different name from the one under the picture that looked like him, the official said.

<a href="http://luchtvaart.pagina.nl" target="_blank">Airline Industrie News</a>

[sanket_patel]

Just heard (over the internet scanner) as Air India flight 102 is doing a return flight (same Aircraft) back to london. Nothing really bad happened, just the guys at NORAD following protocol. <img src="wink.gif" border="0">

[polzin]

Altpax........... .Come to think of it, I hope all the Canadian fighters got back home without being shot down.

:)

[sanket_patel]

Ok so we may have only dozens of fighter jets in Canada.... but hey, we get the job done! :) . .(Just want to say good job to the Air India crew <img src="smile.gif" border="0"> )

[Rollingthunder]

Always.

I have 4 dozen snowballs in the freezer

[Gaza]

This type of knee jerk reaction is highly unlikely to instil confidence in Joe Public! <img src="rolleyes.gif" border="0">

[Man-on-the-fence]

Gaza

It is EXACTLY this type of reaction that IS going to instil confidance in Joe P.

Its just a shame that it didnt happen before the Plane departed, but as it appears that on 9/11 it happened after the plane crashed things appear to be improving.

Good job chaps, thanks to all involved.

[Kerosene Kraut]

So did they halt all traffic at JFK as the flight arrived there? Looked like deserted on CNN.

[Check 6]

No criticism of the Heathrow screener? Only of U.S. screeners? Shame, shame.

[Roadtrip]

"This type of knee jerk reaction is highly unlikely to instil confidence in Joe Public!" . .. .GAZA - If it had been something real and nobody knee-jerked, then I suppose you'd be criticising them not doing anything?. .. .How come so many of these muslim fanatic killers seem to hold British passports -- Richard Reid, and now the kidnapper/killer suspect in Pakistan? Sounds like it's time for the British to do some vermin control.. . . . <small>[ 03 March 2002, 16:27: Message edited by: Roadtrip ]</small>