NEW YORK, Aug 25: An American Airlines flight carrying 179 people from Manchester, England, to Chicago was diverted to Bangor, Maine, on Friday because of security concerns, the airline said.
It was the latest in a series of scares since police in Britain uncovered a suspected plot to blow up U.S.-bound airliners this month. Since then security has been tightened at airports and passengers have been jittery.
The U.S. Transportation Security Administration said it learned of “a reported threat to the aircraft while it was en route.” The plane landed safely and all passengers left the plane.
Richard Hedges, an American Airlines spokesman in London, said American Airlines flight 55 from Manchester to Chicago was diverted to Bangor due to a possible security concern.
In Houston, FBI officials were questioning a man traveling from Buenos Aires on Continental flight 52 after bomb-sniffing dogs at the international arrivals area noticed something in his luggage, a TSA official said.
Officials believed he picked up dynamite during a mining trip while he was abroad and had stored it in his suitcase.
