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Air Canada Flight Returns to Los Angeles After Passenger Incident
An Air Canada flight was forced to return to the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on Thursday afternoon after a passenger allegedly uttered an anti-American threat, TV reports said.
The man, identified by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as Javid Naghani, became verbally abusive and uttered the threat when he was apprehended for smoking in the lavatory about half an hour after takeoff.
The confrontation was resolved without any violence, but the pilot decided to return to LAX as a precautionary measure. The Boeing 767, escorted by two F-16 fighter planes, landed safely at the airport.
The passenger was handed over to the FBI immediately, while other passengers were taken to the Tom Bradley International Terminal and booked on the next flight.
When the incident occurred, the flight 792 to Toronto had 145 passengers aboard including a crew of seven.
On the same day, U.S. President George W. Bush announced that National Guard troops will take over airport security control throughout the country in the wake of the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington, in which nearly 7,000 people were believed killed or missing.
The Pentagon has also confirmed that the Air Force has been authorized to shoot down any airliner that appears to be threatening U.S. cities.
Governor Gray Davis, who was at the Los Angeles airport for a press conference when the Air Canada plane landed shortly after taking off, called up National Guard troops to bolster security before boarding a San Francisco-bound flight to demonstrate his confidence in air travel.
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