Air Marshals Handcuffed, Removed From Flight After FA Reports Passenger “Flashed a Gun”

Two federal air marshals were reportedly removed from a flight by airport police shortly after landing in Minneapolis. The crew members say they alerted authorities on the ground because one of the on-duty federal officers “flashed his gun” in front of a flight attendant. Local police say the air marshals were briefly handcuffed before being turned over to the FBI for questioning.

According to authorities, two on-duty federal air marshals were mistakenly removed from a United Airlines flight operated by Republic Airways because a flight attendant believed an unauthorized passenger had “flashed a gun.” Airport police, alerted by the flight crew, surrounded the Monday evening Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) to Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport (MSP) flight immediately after landing.

According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the two federal air marshals were escorted from the aircraft by officers before being handcuffed and later turned over to the FBI. In a statement, a TSA spokesperson confirmed the armed air marshals involved were on duty when they were mistakenly taken into custody.

“They were on official business onboard a flight and mistaken for a passenger by a flight attendant,” TSA, the agency that oversees the Federal Air Marshal Service, said in the terse statement. “Protocols for notification of law enforcement presence aboard an aircraft are in place to avoid incidents like this. TSA is working with the airline to determine the specific circumstances in this case.”

Conversations between the flight crew and air traffic control obtained by the newspaper, however, make it clear that the captain was very much aware that he was dealing with federal air marshals, telling controllers that one of the air marshals had shown a flight attendant his weapon during the flight.

“That is completely against SOP for them to show their firearm,” the pilot radioed. “So that’s the reason we declared an emergency.”

Local authorities defended their actions, noting that once the crew had declared an emergency they had little choice but to contain the situation and let federal officials sort out the details and issues of jurisdiction.

“We know we have a call from the flight crew indicating a passenger flashed a gun in flight,” MSP spokesperson Patrick Hogan told the newspaper. “We contact the FBI and make preparations to board the flight in a remote area when it lands. We then take the individuals to the police operations center for questioning by the investigating agency, the FBI, whose job it is to get to the bottom of who the individuals are and discern the facts behind the situation that led to the call for police help.”