"Feds detain 5 on airline flight"

Saturday, May 6, 2006

Men detained 3 hours for school materials
FBI: Four Angolans, one Israeli posed no threat
The Associated Press


NEWARK, New Jersey (AP) -- Five airline passengers speaking in foreign
languages and carrying "aircraft flight materials" were briefly detained
Saturday until authorities determined they were simply returning to their
home countries after attending a U.S. helicopter training school.

Fellow passengers on American Airlines Flight 1874, which had departed from
Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, became suspicious of the men, said
Steven Siegel, a spokesman for the FBI's Newark office.

A federal marshal on the plane notified authorities at Newark Liberty
International Airport about the men's behavior.

The men -- identified only as four Angolan military personnel and an Israeli
-- had attended helicopter training school in Texas, Siegel said.

Police officers from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which
operates the airport, took the men into custody soon after the plane landed
around 3:20 p.m., said a Port Authority spokesman.

After being questioned by authorities, the men were released around 6 p.m.,
Siegel said.

The plane was carrying 121 passengers and five crew members. All other
passengers had been released.


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