By Steve Neavling
Federal agents arrested a Delta Air Lines co-pilot moments after Flight 2809 landed at San Francisco International Airport on Saturday night, startling passengers and prompting questions that remain unanswered.
The Boeing 757 from Minneapolis had just touched down after a fog-delayed landing when law enforcement officers, including Homeland Security agents and air marshals, boarded the plane and made their way to the cockpit, according to a passenger who emailed the San Francisco Chronicle.
“They stormed the cockpit, cuffed the co-pilot, arrested him, walked him down the aisle, and ushered him off the plane,” she wrote, describing the scene as “shocking and unnerving.”
Officers later returned to retrieve the pilot’s belongings. The co-pilot’s name has not been released.
Delta declined to comment and referred inquiries to the Department of Homeland Security, which has not responded. The arresting agency, Homeland Security Investigations, has not disclosed why the co-pilot was taken into custody.
Citing a senior federal source, Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin reported that the arrest involved allegations of child sexual abuse material. Authorities have not confirmed that claim.
Passengers were not told what happened.
“I have no idea what just happened,” the remaining pilot reportedly said after the arrest.
