Saw this earlier… and it did make me wonder….
Two F-15 fighter jets escorted a passenger jet that had been headed for Hawaii back to Portland International Airport in Oregon after a passenger in coach became “uncooperative,” an airline official said Wednesday.
Hawaiian Airlines Flight 39 took off from Portland at 10:10 a.m. with 231 passengers and a crew of 10 when — 90 minutes into the flight — its captain decided to turn around the Boeing 767, said Keoni Wagner, the airline's vice president of public affairs.
The fighter jets intercepted the plane at 1 p.m. North American Aerospace Defense Command said in a written statement.
It landed at 1:16 p.m. without further incident, the TSA said.
Upon the plane's return, the passenger — a 56-year-old Salem, Oregon, man — was escorted from the plane with his female companion without incident, the FBI and the Port of Portland said in a joint statement.
The FBI said it was not releasing his name because he had not been charged.
FBI agents and Port officers interviewed the passenger and his companion, the flight crew and others, then released the two and referred the matter to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for review.
via Fighter jets escort plane to after passenger becomes unruly – CNN.com.
What did he do?
In a statement, the Transportation Security Administration said the captain decided to return the plane to Portland “due to a suspicious passenger who made threatening remarks and refused to store his carry-on bag.”
Port of Portland Public Information Officer Martha Richmond told CNN that the plane was turned around “due to concerns the crew had.”
Do I think it was an overreaction? Possibly. However, in light of what happened over the Christmas Holiday; any action, is better than no action at all. Glad to see that TSA is on top of things.