BANGOR, Maine — A US Airways jet traveling Tuesday from Paris to North Carolina was diverted to Maine after a French passenger handed a note to a flight attendant claiming that she had a surgically implanted device.
There is no evidence the plane was ever in danger, officials said.
An examination by two doctors aboard the plane found that the passenger, a French citizen born in Cameroon, had no scars or incisions, said U.S. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who was briefed by Transportation Security Administration chief John Pistole.
The FBI and the Homeland Security Department warned airlines last summer that terrorists are considering surgically hiding bombs inside humans to evade airport security.
“We have seen intelligence identifying surgically implanted bombs as a threat to air travel,” said Collins, the ranking Republican on the Homeland Security Committee.
Two F-15 fighters scrambled to escort Flight 787 with 179 passengers and nine crew members to Bangor International Airport, where it landed shortly after noon Tuesday.
Front Section, Pages 9 on 05/23/2012