BANGOR, Maine – A US Airways jet flying from Paris to North Carolina was diverted after a French woman handed a flight attendant a note stating she had a surgically-implanted device, officials said.
The Charlotte-bound jet landed in Maine after the incident, which an airline spokesman called a "security issue."
House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Pete King, R-N.Y., said the woman, who was arrested, had no scars. Sources told Fox News investigators believe the "passenger never posed a threat."
The passenger, who is originally from Cameroon, had no checked baggage and was planning to stay in the U.S. for 10 days, sources told Fox News. The incident came just weeks after CIA thwarted the new underwear plot and just weeks after more reports surfaced over concerns that terrorists could hide bombs inside their bodies.
A North American Aerospace Defense Command spokesman says two F-15 fighters were scrambled to escort the plane.
"She behaved in a surprising manner," a source said of the unnamed passenger. Another official says the passenger appeared to be mentally unstable.
Tony Caruso, acting airport manager, told reporters that the passenger was "unruly" and was removed after the jet taxied to a remote part of the airport.
US Airways spokesman Andrew Christie says the Flight 787 jet with 179 passengers was diverted around noon Tuesday to Bangor International Airport due to a "security issue."
"US Airways flight 787 has landed safely in Bangor," The Transportation Security Administration said in a statement. "TSA is aware of reports of a passenger who exhibited suspicious behavior during flight. Out of an abundance of caution the flight was diverted to BGR where it was met by law enforcement."
Bangor is 917 miles from Charlotte.
"We have seen intelligence identifying surgically implanted bombs as a threat to air travel," Maine Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican, said. "My understanding is TSA issued security directives recently to airports, airline carriers, TSA screeners, and foreign governments advising them to take added screening precautions and to be on the lookout for indicators of surgically implanted explosives."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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