Man questioned after London-bound flight diverted

A flight from Los Angeles to London was diverted to New York today because of what officials said may have been unfounded fears of a security breach.

A flight attendant on the American Airlines plane apparently became suspicious of a male passenger because there was “some confusion as to whether the man was properly security-screened” before boarding the Heathrow-bound flight at Los Angeles International Airport, a law enforcement official said.

Authorities were questioning the passenger today at Kennedy International Airport, said the official.

US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff told CNN the incident may have been a miscue.

“The individual in question was, in fact, an employee who was travelling in a private capacity,” Chertoff told CNN, saying he had received information from airline representatives.

“It may very well turn out that this is nothing more than a misunderstanding with an employee.”

The scare followed on the heels of a new threat assessment and Chertoff’s comment earlier this week that he had a “gut feeling” the United States faced a heightened risk of attack this summer.

The new threat assessment from US counterterrorism analysts said al Qaida restored its operating capabilities to a level unseen since the months before the September 11, 2001, attacks.

The diverted plane, carrying 230 passengers, landed in New York about 3.30am (8.30am Irish time), said Alan Hicks, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airport.

He said the agency was told about an hour earlier that Flight 136 was being diverted.

The plane was still at the airport, Hicks said.