Federal agents arrested a Delta Airlines pilot aboard his own aircraft Saturday night, stunning passengers who witnessed the dramatic takedown moments after landing in San Francisco.
The arrest occurred on Delta Flight 2809 around 9:35 p.m. as the plane from Minneapolis had just touched down and was preparing for passenger departure.
Approximately ten federal agents, including officers from Homeland Security Investigations, boarded the aircraft before any passengers could disembark.
The agents proceeded directly to the cockpit area, where they detained the co-pilot in full view of passengers.
Passenger Sarah Christianson described the scene to the San Francisco Chronicle, stating that “A group of people with badges, guns, and different agency vests/markings were pushing their way up through the aisle to the cockpit.”
The federal agents “stormed the cockpit, cuffed the co-pilot, arrested him, walked him down the aisle, and ushered him off the plane,” according to Christianson’s eyewitness account.
Following the pilot’s removal from the aircraft, a second group of agents returned to collect his personal belongings.
The remaining flight crew appeared completely unaware of the situation unfolding around them.
The other pilot informed passengers that he was equally confused by the arrest, according to Christianson’s observations.
Fox News reported