A Delta flight was diverted after a suspicious note was found in the bathroom, a passenger said.
It was a terrifying Mother’s Day for passengers on two flights diverted for security reasons on Sunday.
One flight, Continental Flight 546 from Houston to Chicago, was diverted to St. Louis after a passenger tried to open a door on the front of the plane, a passenger told the Chicago Tribune.
The man was subdued by an air marshal on board after a flight attendant began screaming. He was taken into custody when the flight landed in St. Louis, according to the report.
A spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration told the Tribune that there was no indication of any terrorist threat, and officials searched the plane for explosives before it continued to Chicago.
The diversion came around 11:45 am – about the same time a Delta flight from Detroit to San Diego was diverted to Albuquerque, New Mexico after a “potential security threat” was identified.
Officials wouldn’t discuss the threat, but Tim Cole, a passenger, said that the pilot said there was a note that had the word “bomb” in it in one of the plane’s lavatories.
“The captain came on and said ‘You notice we’re declining. We’re getting ready to divert. It’s probably a hoax, but we’ve got to take this very seriously,'” Cole said.
It was cleared to take off after authorities found “no suspicious devices” on the plane, an FBI spokesman said.
The passengers were deplaned and were all interviewed before the flight was cleared to take off again – but it is not clear when it actually will be back in the air.
On the Delta website, the plane’s status was still listed as “diverted”.
The incidents came as security agencies across the country are on high alert following the death of Osama Bin Laden.
There have been no reports of specific threats.
