
Delta co-pilot arrested at SFO after federal agents ‘stormed the cockpit'
The Boeing 737-300 touched down at approximately 9:35 p.m. after a delayed second approach due to heavy fog. What began as a routine deplaning quickly turned chaotic, according to eyewitness accounts.
'A group of people with badges, guns, and different agency vests/markings were pushing their way up through the aisle to the cockpit,' passenger Sarah Christianson said in an email to the Chronicle.
Seated in first class, Christianson said she counted at least 10 law enforcement officers, including agents from Homeland Security Investigations and people identifying as air marshals.
The officers reportedly 'stormed the cockpit, cuffed the copilot, arrested him, walked him down the aisle, and ushered him off the plane through the cabin doors located between first and coach.'
A second team of agents returned shortly after to retrieve the co-pilot's personal belongings.
'It was rage-inducing to see someone being disappeared right in front of me,' she added.
Delta Air Lines declined to comment, referring inquiries to the Department of Homeland Security, which has not yet responded.
The remaining pilot appeared unaware of the arrest, telling passengers he had 'no idea what just happened.' The reason for the arrest has not been disclosed.
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San Francisco Chronicle
2 days ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
S.F. residents say sex work has ‘spiraled out of control' in this neighborhood
A group of San Francisco residents says efforts by officials to deter sex work in the city's Mission District have again failed to fix the problem. After a lawsuit filed by residents on Shotwell Street last year, the city installed street barricades to deter prostitution and launched a 'Dear John' program to discourage potential clientele from coming to the area to purchase sex. But residents down the street on Shotwell say the barricades have merely pushed the city's illicit sex trade to their doorsteps and that there are no signs that letters the city sends to 'johns' are working. Some see the situation as another example of city officials displacing rather than resolving San Francisco's most pressing societal issues. 'We feel for the workers, whether they chose this because of a lack of opportunities or were forced into it,' said Laurel, a mother who lives near 18th and Shotwell streets, 'but these activities are harming them and residents.' Laurel, whom the Chronicle agreed to identify by first name only due to safety concerns in accordance with its policy on anonymous sources, said she and her neighbors have become 'very disheartened' by the lack of meaningful response from city officials. 'It feels like our concerns are not a priority,' she said. The residents who live near the corner of 18th and Shotwell streets have asked for a handful of improvements, including better street lighting, public signage urging people to report sex trade activity, cameras to capture sex trafficking and increased overnight police presence. They've also requested an audit of the effectiveness of the Dear John program, which officials launched in November to send letters to the owners of registered vehicles caught on camera soliciting sex. SFPD has sent out only 57 letters, which advise recipients that 'it is illegal to engage in or solicit prostitution,' in the past eight months. As part of a pilot program, cameras were briefly set up on Shotwell Street to help with surveillance and deployment of the program, but the cameras were later removed when the camera company's free pilot program expired. Evan Sernoffsky, a spokesperson for the San Francisco Police Department, said the cameras were better suited to identify stolen vehicles rather than enforcing the solicitation of prostitution. He added that the department is evaluating other surveillance options and working closely with the community to identify better ways to address the neighborhood's challenges. 'This activity is unacceptable, and we are committed to ensuring our streets are clean and safe for everyone,' Sernoffsky wrote in an email. 'We are always devoting resources to these challenges, making arrests and holding individuals accountable who are engaged in this activity.' Although SFPD occasionally conducts special operations to arrest suspected sex workers and their clients, Sernoffsky said enforcing solicitation of prostitution is resource-intensive and generally results only in misdemeanor cases. Similar to the city's homelessness and drug crises, the illicit sex trade has had a longstanding presence in San Francisco and other Bay Area cities. The Mission's quiet side streets and convenient highway access make Shotwell and other nearby streets a popular hot spot for sex workers and their clientele. Two years ago, officials set up bollards to deter sex work on Capp Street and the center of the city's illicit sex trade migrated a few blocks east to Shotwell. Frustrated by what they described as a public nuisance, a group of Shotwell residents sued the city in hopes of forcing officials to eradicate the issue. The city tried to address their concerns by setting up more barricades along Shotwell between 19th and 21st streets. Some residents opposed the barriers, arguing they would reduce parking spots, make access more difficult for emergency vehicles and potentially shift sex workers to new areas of the Mission. But Ayman Farahat, a lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, said the blockades were better than the alternative. Those blockades, which remain in place, are set up mid-block to cut down on through traffic and in intersections to prevent left turns. 'What is not fine is to not do anything about it,' Farahat said. 'Having barricades is better than not.' Farahat and the other plaintiffs dropped their lawsuit against the city earlier this year. City Attorney David Chiu said in a statement that he was pleased that the plaintiffs in the suit 'recognized the city worked tirelessly to address complaints from community members.' Residents around 18th and Shotwell, however, say their fears that the barricades would shift the sex trade down to their corner quickly materialized. They often see sex workers appear as early as 8 p.m., with some still on the street when they get up in the morning. They say the activity has made them fearful to leave their homes at night and that the loud noises and increased traffic that come along with it has led many to lose sleep at night. 'For years, it was very quiet, but now it's terrible,' said Marcia, who has lived in an apartment in the area for nearly 40 years and who also asked that her last name not be used due to safety concerns. 'I cannot sleep.' The residents sent a series of emails to public officials urging them to take action. In one, they argued 'this is not merely a nuisance — it is a humanitarian, public safety, and economic emergency that has spiraled out of control.' On Thursday evening, more than a dozen sex workers were in the area soliciting customers. Walking toward the corner of 18th and Shotwell in tall heels, mesh pants and a furry pink jacket, a sex worker named Kim said that recent actions taken by the city were not stopping her or others from coming to the area. 'Honestly it's probably just f—ing up the morning commute more than it is affecting our business,' she said about the street barriers. 'You can see the girls are still out here working and people still find a way to maneuver around to get to us.' Officers in a squad car stopped at various intersections along Shotwell Street and flashed their lights for several minutes at a time in an apparent effort to scatter the sex workers. A pair of workers who stood nearby seemed unfazed. Shortly after the cops left, a car rolled to a stop, and after speaking briefly to the driver, a sex worker hopped in.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Airline Employee Who Survived Toronto Crash Claims Pilot Was 'Inexperienced and Inadequately Trained'
Vanessa Miles, an employee of Delta's regional subsidiary, was "deadheading" when her flight to Toronto crash landed on Feb. 17NEED TO KNOW A passenger on board the Delta Air Lines plane that crashed in Toronto is now suing the company Vanessa Miles and her lawyers claim the company's alleged negligence led to the violent crash All 80 people on board survived the Feb. 17 incident, with 18 people transported to local hospitalsA passenger on board the Delta plane that rolled over during a crash landing in Toronto in February is now suing the airline. According to a lawsuit filed on July 28, Michigan resident Vanessa Miles boarded Toronto-bound Endeavor Air Flight 4819 in Minneapolis on Feb. 17, 2025. The woman was an employee of Endeavor Air — a regional Delta subsidiary — but was traveling as a passenger to reach another assignment location, a practice known as 'deadheading.' According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the flight crash landed at Toronto Pearson International Airport at around 2:45 p.m. local time. Footage and photos captured during the incident show the jet catching fire as it hit the runway, skidded out and rolled over, coming to rest upside down. All 80 people on board — 76 passengers and four crew members — were evacuated, per the FAA. On the day of the incident, Delta issued a statement stating that 18 customers with injuries were transported to local hospitals. Miles and her lawyers claim the incident was a result of Delta's alleged 'grossly negligent operation of the aircraft.' 'This accident was caused, at least in part, by Defendants knowing assigning an inexperienced and inadequately trained pilot to operate the flight,' the lawsuit claims. 'Defendants cut corners on safety by rushing pilots through training programs and knowingly putting passengers at risk with inexperienced flight crew.'The suit details Miles' alleged injuries during the crash. She claims she was left temporarily unconscious while hanging upside down in the inverted aircraft. She says she was soaked in jet fuel and surrounded by smoke. After unlocking her seatbelt and attempting to escape, she says she fell 6-7 feet to the ground because the emergency slides were not deployed. Then, she allegedly had to wait an hour in 15-degree weather for transportation to the hospital. Miles allegedly suffered severe and permanent injuries, including a fractured shoulder, traumatic brain injury, back injuries, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and claims include strict liability, negligence and gross negligence. Miles demands damages of at least $75 million on top of legal costs. 'Ms. Miles suffered significant injuries when Delta Air Lines/Endeavor Air Flight 4819 crash-landed in Toronto after preventable safety, training, and evacuation failures, as alleged in our complaint," Madeline Sinkovich, an attorney with Mike Morse Law Firm, shared in a statement with PEOPLE. "We are pursuing full accountability and compensation in court.' Delta Air Lines declined to comment on pending litigation, though a spokesperson for the company said Delta 'continues to support the Transportation Safety Board of Canada's ongoing investigation.' Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. The agency's preliminary report, released on March 20, found winds were gusting up to 35 knots at the time the plane approached Runway 23 for landing. After the rapid descent, the right main landing gear fractured and the wind detached from the plane. 'For everyone at Endeavor Air and Delta, nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and our people. That's why we remain fully engaged as participants in the investigation led by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada. Out of respect for the integrity of this work that will continue through their final report, Endeavor Air and Delta will refrain from comment,' the company shared at the time. Read the original article on People


CNBC
3 days ago
- CNBC
Texas researcher faces deportation after being held for a week at San Francisco airport
A researcher at Texas A&M University flying home from abroad was detained for more than a week by immigration authorities at the San Francisco International Airport, sleeping in a chair and living off food sold in the airport, his family and attorneys said Thursday. It was unclear why Tae Heung "Will" Kim, who is a legal permanent resident with a green card, was detained July 21, his attorney Karl Krooth said at a news conference. Kim, who went to South Korea to attend his brother's wedding, is now in removal proceedings to be deported and is being held at an immigration detention facility in Arizona, Krooth said, adding that he has yet to talk to his client. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement that any green card holder who has a drug offense is in violation of their legal status and can be detained. His attorneys said Kim was charged in 2011 with misdemeanor marijuana possession in Texas, where recreational use is illegal. His attorneys declined to discuss those charges Thursday. But one attorney told the Washington Post, which first reported on Kim's detention, that he fulfilled a community service requirement and successfully petitioned for nondisclosure to seal the offense from the public record. Since returning to the White House, President Donald Trump has launched an unprecedented campaign of immigration enforcement that has pushed the limits of executive power and clashed with federal judges trying to restrain him. American citizens, legal permanent residents, visa holders and visitors have been stopped at airports and detained for days. Some have faced deportation for minor infractions. Kim, 40, has spent most of his life in the U.S., arriving at the age of 5. After helping out in his family's doll-manufacturing business following the death of his father, he recently entered a doctoral program at Texas A&M and is helping to research a vaccine for Lyme disease. His attorney said holding Kim at the airport denied him his right to due process. "The airport is not a detention facility. The airport is not in the immigration courtroom. And Customs and Border Protection officers are interrogators, they are not neutral arbiters," he said. Krooth said his client was moved between two small rooms in the daytime at the airport. "He was moved within what's called secondary inspection at least twice per day from one area where there were no windows," Krooth said. At night he was moved to another room where he slept in a chair, Krooth said. An airport spokesperson said in an email that "the airport is not notified when CBP denies entry to a passenger," referring inquiries to federal officials. His attorneys were not allowed access to Kim while he was at the airport and he was given only one phone call and periodic texts with his brother. There has been no communication with Kim since he's been transferred to Arizona, Krooth said. Kim's mother, Yehoon "Sharon" Lee, told reporters Thursday through an interpreter that her son has asthma and she worries about him getting proper medical care in detention. Lee told the Washington Post that she and her husband entered the U.S. on business visas in the 1980s, and by the time they became naturalized citizens, Kim was too old to get automatic citizenship.