A pilot for a Delta Airlines flight was arrested by federal agents just moments after the plane landed. Around 10 agents with Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) stormed the plane after it landed in San Francisco on Saturday, July 26, according to the New York Post.
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Homeland Security Agents Storm Delta Airplane To Arrest Pilot Right After Landing
Delta Flight 2809 took off from Minneapolis and landed at San Francisco International Airport around 9:35 PM local time, per the San Francisco Chronicle. Passengers were shocked as nearly a dozen agents suddenly boarded the plane upon arrival.
Even the flight crew wasn’t sure what was going on. Passenger Sarah Christianson told the outlet that one pilot announced he had “no idea what just happened.”
Christianson recalled how the agents suddenly showed up without warning. “A group of people with badges, guns, and different agency vests/markings were pushing their way up through the aisle to the cockpit,” said the passenger.
There was clearly a reason why everyone was in the dark, as it was a serious one. According to FOX Business, HSI arrested the copilot due to child sexual abuse material charges.
Despite the flight being delayed twice due to bad weather conditions, the federal agents were ready. After cuffing the copilot, they swiftly escorted him off down the aisle and off the plane.
“Traumatic” Sudden Arrest Of Copilot Videotaped
View From The Wing, an aviation blog, shared a video of the incident up close. It showed the officers who “stormed to the front” of the cockpit, leaving the aircraft.
The same passenger, Christianson, spoke with ABC 7 as well to detail the shocking ordeal. “I don’t know if this person was disappearing before our eyes, if there had been a crime committed, or what exactly was happening,” she said.
“It was scary. It was traumatic to watch.” Christianson also recalled hopping in the car after her husband picked her up from baggage claim and crying. “I jumped in the car and cried,” she said. “Because who knows what’s happening to that poor person? Why that happened? What did we just see?”
Officials have yet to share the identity of the copilot in question.