By Daniel Massey
Anxious borough residents flocked to John F. Kennedy International Airport last Thursday afternoon after hearing that the Air India flight carrying their relatives from London to Queens was being followed across the Atlantic by U.S. fighter jets.
A worried Manmohan Singh, of Richmond Hill, had rushed to the airport with his entire family after hearing on an Indian television station that Flight 101, which was carrying 378 passengers and 21 crew members, was being tailed following trouble in London.
“My sister-in-law and nephew are coming,” he said while waiting in the crowded terminal. “That’s why the whole family is here. I don’t know what’s going on.”
A report from London that one of the passengers on the flight resembled a man on a terrorist watch list prompted the added security measure, but the episode ended up being a case of mistaken identity, said Agent Joseph Valiquette, a spokesman for the FBI’s New York office.
The plane followed by the fighters landed at Kennedy at 4:45 p.m. and was taken to an isolated section of the runway, where two FBI agents boarded. They approached the man, described by passengers as “Middle Eastern” or “Persian” in appearance and his female companion, who passengers said had short blonde hair and was wearing a beige jacket, and removed the two without incident for questioning.
One passenger, Mehbub Patel, who was traveling from London on business, said the man and woman were removed from right in front of him in a boarding line and interviewed for about 20 minutes by Air India representatives in a lounge before being allowed on the plane in London.
“I’m totally baffled why they were brought back on the plane,” he said. “I don’t understand why they put them on the plane.”
Upon boarding the plane at JFK, two FBI agents suspected the whole incident was a false alarm after seeing the man in question.
“They immediately had their doubts that he was of any investigative interest mainly because he did not appear to resemble anybody on any of the watch lists,” Valiquette said.
Nevertheless, “out of an abundance of caution” the agents removed the man and his companion for questioning, Valiquette said.
The interview lasted about 45 minutes and after the two produced identification and had their backgrounds checked by computer they were released shortly before 7 p.m., the FBI said.
The episode began when an airport worker in London reported someone who resembled a man on a watch list of terrorists had boarded the plane. There were varying reports as to why the man was singled out, Valiquette said. “We’re not sure what the true story is,” he said.
Passengers on the flight said there were no disturbances on board and that they had no idea they were was a problem until the flight landed.
“Everyone started taking their carry-on luggage,” said Jeepal Shah, of Plainsboro, N.J., describing the normal end-of-flight routine.
“I felt safe on the plane,” said Pooja Kumar an actress from Brooklyn. “I had no clue F-15s were following.”
That left the fretting to people on the ground such as Singh. When he finally found his nephew and sister-in-law, he was overcome with a sense of relief.
“Everything is OK,” he said.
Sonal Patel, of Deer Park, L.I. was waiting for her mother-in-law, father-in-law and baby daughter. She was overwhelmed when she was reunited with them.
“I got so excited,” she said.
Reach reporter Daniel Massey by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 156.
