A man on the U. S. government’s “no-fly” list was headed from Paris to Chicago Friday before U.S. authorities vetting the flight’s manifest discovered his name and told the airline to turn the plane around.
The man was identified as the brother to a lieutenant for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, leader of the deadliest militant group in Iraq, according to a senior law enforcement official. The man is not accused of any wrongdoing, but he was on the list, the official said.
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Transportation Safety Administration officials cross-check all incoming international flights to make sure no one is on the no-fly list. Those on the list are not usually issued a boarding pass because airlines are supposed to check the list, making the TSA’s vetting a safety net, officials said.
“It’s actually a success story for us,” said Lauren Stover, TSA spokeswoman. “It turned around but it never even got close to U.S. airspace.”
Air France Flight AF 050 with 291 passengers returned to Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport about 7:57 p.m. Paris time, more than three hours after it took off, authorities said.
Al-Zarqawi’s name has been mentioned in possible connection to the bombings that rocked London, killing at least 50 Thursday.
The no-fly list was created after Sept. 11 to prevent those who pose a threat to aviation or national security from boarding airplanes, officials said.
A spokeswoman for the airline declined to comment on the incident.