Delta Airlines Pilot Arrested in Cockpit Within Moments of Plane Touching Down in San Francisco: Reports
A Delta Airlines flight from Minneapolis to San Francisco took a very unexpected turn once the plane touched down in California.
On Saturday, July 26, Delta Flight 2809 landed at San Francisco International Airport around 9:35 p.m., according to reporting by the San Francisco Chronicle. Within moments of its arrival, a group of approximately 10 officers boarded the plane and arrested one of its copilots.
A passenger onboard told travel outlet View from the Wing that the officers "stormed" the cockpit. They reportedly took the copilot away to the confusion of everyone, including the other pilot on the flight.
The copilot has not been identified by name.
A spokesperson for Homeland Security Investigations in San Francisco told the San Francisco Chronicle that the agency assisted local officials in executing an arrest warrant. 'This is an ongoing local investigation with the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office,' the spokesperson told the outlet.
Footage shared with View from the Wing appeared to show the agents on the plane. Some of them wore plainclothes.
Describing the incident as "traumatic to watch," a passenger who identified herself as Sarah told ABC7 News that some of the officers appeared to be wearing Homeland Security badges. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that others were air marshals.
"They barged through and stormed the cockpit," Sarah told ABC7. "They removed the copilot, cuffed him, presumably arrested him, and brought him back down the aisle to deplane."
She said that the rest of the people on the flight were "shocked and stunned" by the development.
Demanding answers, she said that the situation was "just a huge question mark."
"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, adding that she "jumped in the car and cried" after her husband picked her up at the gate.
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The reason for the pilot's arrest and additional details about the situation were not immediately available.
A representative for the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) referred questions on the incident to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
PEOPLE reached out to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California and Delta Airlines for comment.
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