2 people detained in threat that halted takeoff of jetliner at San Francisco airport

2 people detained in threat to jetliner in Calif.

SAN FRANCISCO — An American Airlines flight bound for New York City was halted just before takeoff Thursday after someone called in a threat, and two people were detained.

The two people were being questioned about the incident, and all other passengers would be questioned as well, said Joe Schadler, a spokesman for the FBI.

Michael Kidd, who was on American Airlines Flight 24, told The Associated Press that he saw a young man and a young woman sitting in the back row being taken away in handcuffs by uniformed police officers.

“There was no fear in the cabin at all,” Kidd said in telephone interview. “It was pretty calm. Even with the frustration of having to sit there, there were no raised voices.”

The Transportation Security Administration said officials stopped the flight, bound for New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, before its scheduled takeoff at 7:30 a.m. with 163 passengers.

“All passengers are safe and out of an abundance of caution, TSA requested the plane be moved to a remote location,” TSA spokeswoman Suzanne Trevino said in a statement.

Crew members also were safe.

American Airlines spokesman Tim Smith said the threat was phoned into local police but gave no other details.

A law enforcement official told the AP that the call originated from a hotel in Alameda to that city’s police department Thursday morning, and officials there notified federal authorities. The official was not authorized to release the information and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Passengers were removed from the plane and taken by buses to a terminal for questioning and screening. The plane was taken to an isolated part of the tarmac.

It was the latest in a series of airplane scares in the past year, including the attempted Christmas bombing of a Detroit-bound jetliner by a Nigerian. In April, a Qatari diplomat who was on his way to an official visit with an imprisoned al-Qaida sleeper touched off a bomb scare in Colorado by slipping into an airline bathroom for a smoke.

Associated Press Writers Eileen Sullivan and Joan Lowy in Washington contributed to this report.