On the tenth anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks, two Israelis aroused suspicion on board a U.S. domestic flight, to the extent that F-16 jets were ordered to escort the flight to its destination. The New York Daily News has reported that three passengers on an American Airlines flight from Los Angeles to New York aroused suspicion among the flight's other passengers and crew. The three passengers in question, two Israeli citizens and one Russian citizen, were seen making odd hand gestures, approaching the cockpit and locking themselves in the aircraft's rest rooms for extended periods of time. The odd behavior, coupled with the historic date and destination of the flight, raised alarm on board. The crew followed security protocol, contacting air traffic control at JFK International airport in New York as well as the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). Not wanting to take any chances, NORAD sent two F-16 jets to shadow the American Airlines Flight until it reached its destination in New York at 4:10 p.m. A spokesman for American Airlines indicated that the aircraft's captain did not declare a security threat or request intervention from fighter jets, but merely indicated that a "security concern" had arisen. Initial reports suggested that the suspicious passengers had been "making out" in the plane's lavatories, however the FBI denied the rumors were true. Meanwhile, two passengers aboard a Frontier Airlines flight earlier that day also drew enough attention to raise the alarm among passengers and crew. During the domestic Denver-to-Detriot flight, two passengers caused alarm after spending "an extraordinarily long time" in the aircraft's restrooms and refusing to come out. John Cornelio, a spokesman for NORAD, indicated that two F-16 jets were sent to escort the aircraft, carrying 116 passengers, to its final destination. On landing the aircraft was searched and, according to the Associated Press, given the all-clear by authorities at 5:15 p.m. Cornelio mentioned that the jets caught up with the flight about 100 miles west of New York, describing the measure as precautionary in nature.
On landing, the plane carrying 153 passengers and 11 crew members was surrounded by police and security personnel. In a statement issued by the FBI, spokesman J. Peter Donald said that the jets had been sent to shadow the American Airlines flight, "out of an abundance of caution." The problematic passengers were brought in for questioning, then released after "no nexus to terrorism" was found.
