Flight from Chicago to Reagan National in Washington is diverted to northern Va.

By AP
Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Flight from Chicago to Washington, DC, diverted

CHANTILLY, Va. — No one has been charged after an American Eagle flight from Chicago to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport was diverted to Dulles International Airport because of a report of a suspicious passenger, officials said Tuesday.

American Eagle spokesman Tim Smith said Flight 4117 landed safely with 45 passengers aboard around 11:50 p.m. Monday.

Smith said when the crew became aware of a security concern during the flight and reported it, the Transportation Security Administration advised them to land at Dulles instead of Reagan.

Greg Soule, a TSA spokesman, said the agency was notified of “a passenger acting unusually” and then rerouted the flight to Dulles, a sprawling airport about 26 miles from the nation’s capital. Reagan is just across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., not far from the Pentagon and the offices of several government contractors in Arlington, Va.

TSA and law enforcement officials interviewed passengers, who were all cleared to proceed, Soule said. No hazardous materials were found on the plane.

Rob Yingling of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority said airport police and other agencies investigated the matter and nobody on the flight was charged.

Smith said most passengers left the airport on their own, while others were offered transportation.

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