A Delta pilot was arrested Saturday night shortly after his flight from Minneapolis landed at San Francisco International Airport.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that law enforcement officers with the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security agents confronted and detained the pilot and seized his belongings. The newspaper cited the account of an unnamed first-class passenger, who said she saw at least 10 officers with badges, guns, and various agency vests and insignia “storm” the cockpit and hustle the pilot onto the jet bridge.
It was not clear from the Chronicle’s account if the officers were passengers on the aircraft and waited for it to land before springing into action, or if they boarded the flight through the airport terminal once it arrived.
The pilot’s name has not been released, and it is not clear if he has been charged with a crime.
“This is an ongoing local investigation with the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office,” a spokesperson told the newspaper.
The crew reportedly did not tell passengers what occurred, and the remaining pilot said he had “no idea what just happened.”
Delta referred press inquiries to law enforcement.
A video shared by travel website View from the Wing showed plainclothes agents with badges walking down the center aisle of the airplane after the pilot was removed.
