An American Airlines flight headed to California was diverted to New Mexico and a passenger detained for allegedly smoking onboard, officials said.
The FBI took the male passenger into custody, said Daniel Jiron, a spokesman for the Albuquerque International Airport.
“Apparently, he had some matches on him that were struck,” Jiron said.
The flight from New York was on its way to Los Angeles. It was diverted to Albuquerque on Wednesday afternoon.
“TSA was notified of a passenger allegedly smoking onboard American Airlines Flight 117 from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX),” the Transportation Security Administration said in a statement.
There was no bomb or bomb threat on the flight, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
Canines swept the plane Wednesday evening out of an “abundance of caution,” the transportation agency said.
The plane’s 168 passengers exited after landing, said Billy Sanez, a spokesman for the airline. The plane later continued onto Los Angeles without the detained passenger late Wednesday.
(Source: CNN)
3 Responses
How stupid do you have to be to even try to smoke on a domestic flight?
I feel bad for people like that. He’ll be in some federal prison with kidnappers and bank robbers and they’ll ask him “What are you in for?” and he’ll have to say “Tampering with a smoke detector”
At least ABQ is a nice airport to be stuck in for a few hours.