Air passenger with possible explosive subdued

Associated Press

BOSTON — A passenger on a Boeing 767 bound from Paris to Miami tried to ignite an "improvised explosive" in his sneakers Saturday, but flight attendants and fellow passengers subdued him, witnesses and authorities said. The plane, escorted by military jets, landed safely in Boston.

The suspect, taken into custody by the FBI, was to be charged with interfering with a flight crew, according to a law enforcement official.

Authorities were investigating whether the man used a British passport with the fake identity of Richard Reid. An FBI official said the man was not of Middle Eastern descent, contrary to earlier speculation.

After the man tried to light a fuse protruding from his shoe, a flight attendant intervened and the 6-foot-4 suspect resisted and bit her, authorities said.

Passengers subdued the man, some taking off their own belts to secure him to his seat, officials said. Two doctors used the airplane’s onboard medical kit to sedate him, and the man’s shoe was removed.

"When he was attempted to be subdued, he said he was wired," said Thomas Kinton, interim executive director of the Massachusetts Port Authority, which runs the airport.

Passenger Eric Debry, 42, of Paris, said he reached over the seat and pulled Reid’s arms back.

"I jumped on his shoulder. Two other guys came and took his legs," said Debry, adding that some of the men held Reid down for 10 minutes while others collected about 20 leather belts to restrain him.

Passenger Thierry Dugeon, 36, of Paris said he was seated about 10 rows behind the suspect and estimated that five or six male passengers subdued him.

"I was there in five seconds, and there were already two or three guys on him. It was like everybody knew what they needed to do," he said. "It’s pure instinct because it goes so fast. You’re not going to think twice."

Philippe Acas, 39, of St. Quentin Enyvelines, France, said the passengers also found two audiotapes in the suspect’s possession and turned them over to the pilot.

The pre-Christmas incident was bound to increase anxiety among airline passengers, many of whom have been reluctant to fly since the Sept. 11 terrorist hijackings.

Two F-15 fighter jets escorted the plane, American Airlines Flight 63, to Logan International Airport, where it landed at 12:50 p.m. with police, fire and bomb squads standing by. The 185 passengers and 12 crew members were taken off safely.

"They X-rayed the shoe and found that in the heel, there were holes drilled, and there looked to be a detonator wire, and substances consistent with (the explosive) C-4," said Massport spokeswoman Laura White.

The shoe was rendered harmless and taken to an FBI lab, along with the man’s other shoe, officials said. Dugeon, the French passenger, described the shoes as high-top basketball sneakers.

Kinton said one shoe contained an "improvised explosive." But the FBI was continuing to examine the substance to see whether it was an explosive, according to a government official in Washington, D.C.

The F-15s were ordered into the air by the Defense Department, which since Sept. 11 has been in regular contact with the FAA.

The suspect was interrogated at the airport by the FBI. Other passengers were also questioned, White said, and the aircraft and luggage were searched. The passengers were to be put on another flight to Miami, an airport spokesman said.

The intervention on the flight "appeared to have prevented something very serious from occurring," Kinton said.

C-4 is a military plastic explosive. Its main ingredient is RDX, which is also used in fireworks. The whitish, puttylike substance can be easily molded by hand. Although large amounts of C-4 can explode if they are burned, small amounts are unlikely to be detonated without a blasting cap.

The explosive was used in the October 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen, killing 17 U.S. sailors and wounding 39.