Federal agents 'stormed the cockpit,' removed Delta co-pilot from flight, passengers say

SAN FRANCISCO -- A regular Delta formation turned thing but mean aft landing astatine San Francisco International Airport Saturday night.

Delta Flight 2809 had conscionable arrived from Minneapolis when, according to passengers, a radical of national agents abruptly boarded the level and stormed the cockpit.

"We were each shocked and stunned. What was happening?" rider Sarah, who didn't privation her past sanction to beryllium identified, told ABC San Francisco affiliate KGO.

Sarah, who often travels this route, said passengers had conscionable started to stitchery their belongings from the overhead bins erstwhile the agents rushed in.

"They barged done and stormed the cockpit," she said. "They removed the co-pilot, cuffed him, presumably arrested him, and brought him backmost down the aisle to deplane."

She counted astatine slightest 10 agents connected board, immoderate wearing badges she recognized from the Department of Homeland Security.

KGO reached retired to the Department of Homeland Security. A spokesperson referred our enquiry to the U.S. Attorney's Office. As of Sunday night, we are inactive awaiting a response. Delta Airlines besides referred our enquiry to instrumentality enforcement.

"I don't cognize if this idiosyncratic was disappearing earlier our eyes, if determination had been a transgression committed, oregon what precisely was happening," Sarah said. She added that chap passengers, formation attendants and adjacent the remaining aviator appeared conscionable arsenic confused by the situation. Despite arriving safely, the incidental stayed with her agelong aft she near the airport.

"It was scary. It was traumatic to watch," she said. "As soon arsenic my hubby picked maine up from baggage claim, I jumped successful the car and cried. Because who knows what's happening to that mediocre person? Why that happened? What did we conscionable see?"

This melodramatic incidental comes amid a drawstring of caller airline-related scares:

A grandma connected different Delta formation says she stopped a chap passenger from trying to participate the cockpit.

A Southwest formation descended rapidly to debar a Hawker Hunter aircraft, leaving passengers frightened.

And connected Sunday, passengers aboard an American Airlines formation retired of Denver were forced to evacuate soon aft takeoff.

As for what precisely happened aboard Delta Flight 2809, passengers, and the public, are inactive waiting for answers.

"It's conscionable a immense question mark," Sarah said. "And we request to cognize what happened."