A Delta Air Lines co-pilot was arrested Saturday night by the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office with the assistance of federal agents, moments after Flight 2809 from Minneapolis landed at San Francisco International Airport, authorities confirmed.
The Boeing 757-300 touched down around 9:35 p.m. after a delayed second approach due to heavy fog. What began as a routine deplaning quickly turned chaotic, according to eyewitness accounts.
“A group of people with badges, guns, and different agency vests/markings were pushing their way up through the aisle to the cockpit,” a passenger wrote in an email to The Chronicle.
The passenger, seated in first class, said she counted at least 10 law enforcement officers, including agents from Homeland Security Investigations San Francisco and people identifying as air marshals.
The officers reportedly “stormed the cockpit, cuffed the co-pilot, arrested him, walked him down the aisle, and ushered him off the plane through the cabin doors located between first and coach,” she said.
A second team of agents returned shortly afterward to collect the co-pilot’s personal belongings. His name has not been released.
A spokesperson for Homeland Security Investigations in San Francisco told the Chronicle on Sunday night that the agency assisted local officials in executing an arrest warrant.
“This is an ongoing local investigation with the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office,” the spokesperson said.
A Delta co-pilot was arrested by federal agents moments after landing at San Francisco International Airport on Saturday, stunning passengers aboard Flight 2809 from Minneapolis.
The passenger described the event as “shocking and unnerving,” adding that the crew offered no information about what had occurred. The remaining pilot told passengers he had “no idea what just happened.”
Delta Air Lines declined to comment, referring inquiries to law enforcement.
Video of the agents leaving the cockpit was shared on the aviation blog A View From the Wing.
The reason for the arrest has not been disclosed.
In a social media post referencing the Chronicle’s initial report, Fox News national correspondent Bill Melugin cited a senior federal source who said the co-pilot was taken into custody on allegations involving child sexual abuse materials.
Authorities have not independently confirmed that information.
The incident comes days after another Delta pilot was detained in Amsterdam for allegedly failing a breathalyzer test — a result that is reportedly being contested.