Five men taken into custody at Newark airport

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Five foreign-born male passengers on
an American Airlines flight were taken into custody on Saturday
after the plane landed at Newark Liberty International Airport,
authorities said.

An air marshal aboard the flight from Dallas-Fort Worth
International Airport notified the pilot during the flight that
he was suspicious of the five men, said Marc LaVorgna, a
spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey,
which operates the airports.

“The pilot asked for a discreet frequency because the
foreign nationals were acting suspicious aboard the aircraft,”
said Holly Baker, spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation
Administration.

One of the male passengers had a “navigational kit,” said
another passenger interviewed by New York radio station WINS.

The MD-82 plane, flight 1874 with 121 passengers and a crew
of five, landed at 3:20 p.m. EDT without incident and Port
Authority police took the five men into custody, LaVorgna said.

He said that the FBI was contacted and were questioning the
five men. “The FBI is in charge of the case.”

Officials at both the FBI and the Transportation Security
Administration were unavailable for comment.

LaVorgna could not provide any details as to why the men
were considered suspicious or what prompted the air marshal to
be concerned about their behavior.

All of the other passengers were released shortly before 4
p.m. EDT.