Flight bound for LV diverted

Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2002 | 11:14 a.m.

SUN STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

FORT SMITH, Ark. -- A year after terrorists hijacked four cross-country flights, a Northwest Airlines jet bound for Las Vegas was diverted to Fort Smith's airport this morning after three passengers locked themselves in a bathroom, officials said.

Ninety-one passengers and five crew members were immediately evacuated from Flight 979, an Airbus A320 traveling from Memphis, Tenn., and after a short negotiation with authorities the men in the bathroom also got off the plane, Northwest officials said.

The incident came a day after the federal government raised the nation's terror alert warning to its second highest level Tuesday -- code orange -- signaling a "high risk" of attack with the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks at hand.

In Washington, federal officials who spoke on condition of anonymity said the incident was not believed to be a terrorist incident.

The 188th Fighter Wing of the Arkansas Air National Guard said it did not provide a military escort for the Airbus, but an F-16 fighter jet landed at the municipal airport about 20 minutes after the Northwest plane.

The Transportation Safety Administration said three men had been acting strangely on the plane but gave no specifics beyond saying they locked themselves in a bathroom. A fourth passenger also was detained, but his precise role was not immediately known. No one was reported hurt in the incident.

Daron Borst, FBI spokesman for the Las Vegas field office, said that agents in Nevada are monitoring the situation.

"We're aware of the situation, and the Las Vegas office will follow up on any leads," Borst said. "Right now the agents in Arkansas will be the lead investigators."

The plane landed at Fort Smith at 9:55 a.m. and was surrounded by police and firefighters. The flight departed Memphis at 8:47 a.m. and was scheduled to arrive at McCarran International Airport at 10:19 a.m.

McCarran spokeswoman Hilarie Grey said that the flight has been cleared to leave Arkansas later today, and is scheduled to arrive in Las Vegas around 2 p.m. It was unclear whether the passengers being questioned would be allowed back on the flight.

Officials with the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management said some sort of negotiations were held between officials and the three passengers in one of the plane's bathrooms.

"Passengers were taken off and they (were) negotiating through the bathroom," said Jennifer Gordon, a spokeswoman for the department.

It wasn't clear who reported suspicions to the airline.

The TSA said the three men had been acting strangely on the plane, but gave no specifics beyond saying the three locked themselves in a bathroom.

Jim Harris, a spokesman for Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, said the three men appeared to be of Middle Eastern descent.

No other air traffic in the area was affected, said Dave Steigman, a spokesman for the Transportation Security Agency.

Jerry Snyder, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman, said that he hadn't heard of any other problems, suspicious situations or diversions by any airliners flying this morning.

McCarran officials have taken additional security precautions today, including adding three additional Metro Police officers to patrol the airport. Officials said that other precautions were taken, but refused to go into specifics citing security concerns.

"It has been a pretty quiet, slow day," Grey said. "Just a middle of the week day."

Clark County Aviation Director Randy Walker said Tuesday that he expected the airport to be slow today.