US Air Force fighter jets escorted an international charter flight to an unscheduled landing in Boston today after an apparently drunk passenger caused a ruckus on board.
Air Europe Flight PE 2065 carrying 307 passengers and 13 crew was headed from Cancun, Mexico, to Rome, Italy, but landed safely at Logan International Airport at 9:10 am.
Two US F-15s intercepted the aircraft over the Atlantic and escorted it to Logan.
Such intercepts have become standard since the September 11th airline attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
An FBI spokeswoman said it was a straightforward case of a passenger having consumed too much alcohol. The passenger was taken into FBI custody at Logan, she said.
He had begun to act up between three and four hours after the plane took off from Cancun, she said.
"He appeared intoxicated, spit on the wall, harassed passenger next to him and slightly injured that passenger before he was subdued by flight crew members," she said, adding the man would likely appear in court later in the day.