U.S.

757 Diverted After Air Scare

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

October 10, 2001 / 6:12 PM EDT / CBS

A Delta airliner bound for California was diverted to Shreveport and landed under escort from two fighter planes Wednesday after a passenger passed a threatening note to a flight attendant, the FBI said.

Flight 357, with 148 people aboard from Atlanta to Los Angeles, was diverted after what the airline described as a "passenger incident."

The FBI arrested one person, identified as Edward Andrew Stephenson, 36, said FBI spokeswoman Sheila Thorne in New Orleans. He was charged with interfering with a flight crew member and attendents, a felony under federal law.

Thorne said Stephenson would make his first court appearance on Thursday. She said the U.S. Attorney's Office in Shreveport planned to ask that Stephenson be given a mental evaluation.

Thorne said the pilot decided to land the plane after the passenger gave a note to a flight attendant that was deemed threatening. She would not give details of the note. Federal Aviation Administration officials said the Boeing 757 reported at 2:43 p.m. that there had been a disturbance that was under control. The plane landed 26 minutes later.

The flight was escorted by two F-15 fighter planes.

Delta spokeswoman Cindi Kurczewski said there were 139 passengers and nine crew members aboard the jetliner. She said the plane was diverted "due to a passenger incident," but referred other questions to authorities.

The flight continued to Los Angeles after it was searched with passengers aboard and took off from Shreveport less than two hours after it landed.

On Monday, two F-16s were sent to escort an American Airlines jetliner to a landing in Chicago after a deranged man burst into the cockpit. Passengers tackled him, and the flight landed without incident.