Two F-16s Escort Sunwing Air Flight Back to Toronto

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A very difficult week for the airline industry continued on Friday.

The United States Air Force this morning scrambled two F16 fighter jets out of an air base in Ohio to escort a flight back to Toronto, after an unruly passenger apparently threatened the airplane.

Sunwing Airlines Flight 772 departed from Toronto Pearson International Airport at 7 a.m. this morning bound for Panama City. But the plane reversed course over West Virginia about 45 minutes into the flight due to an “agitated passenger (who) directly threatened the aircraft,” a Sunwing spokeswoman said.

A spokeswoman with the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) confirmed that two fighter jets from Ohio – likely Toledo – escorted the flight out of U.S. airspace. Once it landed safely back in Toronto with no injuries to the 183 passengers and six crew, 25-year old Canadian citizen Ali Shahi was taken into custody and charged with uttering threats and endangering the safety of an aircraft.

Sunwing said the flight would depart again for Panama this afternoon.