AP source: Man on flight possibly sneaking smoke
By DEVLIN BARRETT and EILEEN SULLIVAN, Associated Press
Apr 7, 2010 10:38 PM CDT
In this image taken from MSNBC video on Wednesday April 7, 2010, shows authorities responding to a plane disturbance on United Flight 663 at the Denver International Airport. The FBI is probing whether a man tried to ignite his shoes on a DC to Denver flight Wednesday, according to law enforcement officials,...   (Associated Press)

A Qatari diplomat trying to sneak a smoke in an airplane bathroom sparked a bomb scare Wednesday night on a flight from Washington to Denver, with fighter jets scrambled and law enforcement put on high alert, law enforcement officials said.

No explosives were found on the man. and officials do not believe he was trying to harm anyone, according to a senior law enforcement officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.

An Arab diplomat briefed on the matter identified the man as Mohammed Al-Madidi.

The sources asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.

Officials said air marshals aboard the flight restrained the man and he was questioned. The plane landed safely as military jets were scrambled.

The incident caused a stir at the Denver airport, where about 40 fire and police vehicles, many with the flashing lights on, were lined up as investigators sorted out the situation.

A senior State Department official said the agency was aware of the tentative identification of the man as a Qatari diplomat and that there would be "consequences, diplomatic and otherwise" if he had committed a crime.

The latest edition of department's Diplomatic List, a registry of foreign diplomats working in the United States, identifies a man named Mohammed Yaaqob Y.M. Al-Madidi as the third secretary for the Qatari Embassy in Washington. Third secretary is a relatively low-ranking position at any diplomatic post and it was not immediately clear what his responsibilities would have been.

Foreign diplomats in the United States, like American diplomats posted abroad, have broad immunity from prosecution. The official said if the man's identity as a Qatari diplomat was confirmed and if it was found that he may have committed a crime, U.S. authorities would have to decide whether to ask Qatar to waive his diplomatic immunity so he could be charged and tried. Qatar could decline, the official said, and the man would likely be expelled from the United States.

___

Associated Press writers Matthew Lee, Matt Apuzzo, Joan Lowy, Pauline Jelinek and Lolita C. Baldor in Washington and Judith Kohler in Denver contributed to this report.