U.K.-to-D.C. Flight Diverted to Boston Due to Unruly Passenger (UPDATED)

Since this story was originally reported, it has been updated to include the Transportation Security Administration’s rebuke of the report mentioning a screwdriver, petroleum jelly and a note that referenced al-Qaida.

An unruly passenger on a Wednesday United Airlines flight from London’s Heathrow Airport to Washington, D.C.’s Dulles caused the flight to be rerouted to Boston’s Logan Airport after the person flashed a screwdriver, matches, petroleum jelly and a piece of paper with a reference to terror group al-Qaida, the Associated Press reports via San Diego Union-Tribune.

Though various news sources reported the presence of a screwdriver and the other materials, George Naccara, Transportation Security Administration federal security director for Massachusetts airports, told The Boston Globe none of the items were on board.

“I don’t know what she had on board with her, but we have been told she did not have a screwdriver, she did not have any liquids, such as Vaseline, and any notebook she may have had, it did not contain an al-Qaida reference,” Naccara told the Globe.

Brandon Borrman, a United Airlines spokesman, told the AP the flight landed safely, and 182 passengers plus 12 crew members were on board. Borrman also told the AP that a female passenger participated in some “suspicious activity” aboard the plane, but did not provide additional details on the matter.

Massachusetts State Police and federal law enforcement authorities were called to the scene, and they took control of the aircraft immediately upon its arrival, according to the AP.

Passengers were spotted being evacuated from the plane, and a Logan spokesperson told the AP all carry-on luggage is being examined.

The incident comes less than week after British authorities announced that they had foiled a terrorist plot to explode a number of United States-bound flights from the United Kingdom over the Atlantic Ocean.

Related Links:

• Foiled Terrorist Plot May Hurt Airlines’ Economic Recovery (CSO)

• Britain Stops ‘Major Terrorist Plot’ Against U.S. Passenger Flights (CSO)

• New U.K. Rules Put Laptops in Checked Baggage

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