chperplt
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BALTIMORE, Maryland (CNN) -- A U.S. Airways jet en route to Baltimore, Maryland, landed under military escort Tuesday morning after an apparent miscommunication led ground controllers to fear the aircraft was hijacked, officials said.
The plane -- U.S. Airways Flight 1814 from Charlotte, North Carolina -- was ordered to taxi to a remote area of Baltimore-Washington International Airport after landing about 9:30 a.m. FBI agents then boarded the aircraft, passenger Jim Jinjozian told CNN.
The aircraft was escorted by fighter jets from central North Carolina to the airport, but "I can guarantee you there was no hijacking going on," Jinjozian said.
The aircraft, with 45 people on board, was allowed to proceed to the gate about 10:45 a.m., he said.
The FBI said the flight crew erroneously transmitted a code that indicated there was some sort of threat on board the aircraft Tuesday morning shortly after it left Charlotte. The crew quickly radioed ground controllers that the code was sent by mistake, but federal authorities sent fighters to intercept and escort the plane to Baltimore just to be sure, an FBI spokesman in Baltimore told CNN.
Jinjozian said the jet's pilot described the incident as the result of "a terrible misunderstanding." He added that he noticed something was wrong "when I saw the tail of an F-16" outside his window.
"The pilot came on and told us right away that there had been a misunderstanding from the tower, that they thought there was something possibly wrong with the aircraft," he said.
The plane -- U.S. Airways Flight 1814 from Charlotte, North Carolina -- was ordered to taxi to a remote area of Baltimore-Washington International Airport after landing about 9:30 a.m. FBI agents then boarded the aircraft, passenger Jim Jinjozian told CNN.
The aircraft was escorted by fighter jets from central North Carolina to the airport, but "I can guarantee you there was no hijacking going on," Jinjozian said.
The aircraft, with 45 people on board, was allowed to proceed to the gate about 10:45 a.m., he said.
The FBI said the flight crew erroneously transmitted a code that indicated there was some sort of threat on board the aircraft Tuesday morning shortly after it left Charlotte. The crew quickly radioed ground controllers that the code was sent by mistake, but federal authorities sent fighters to intercept and escort the plane to Baltimore just to be sure, an FBI spokesman in Baltimore told CNN.
Jinjozian said the jet's pilot described the incident as the result of "a terrible misunderstanding." He added that he noticed something was wrong "when I saw the tail of an F-16" outside his window.
"The pilot came on and told us right away that there had been a misunderstanding from the tower, that they thought there was something possibly wrong with the aircraft," he said.
