A delegation from the United States Congress on Friday, confirmed that US air marshals had intervened on a NorthWest airlines flight in which, 12 Indians flying home were held on suspicions of planning a terrorist attack.
"From the briefings that we received from the Transportation security administration ... And from your (Dutch) officials as well ... The federal air marshals ...Did the right thing," Jerry Costello, a Democratic lawmaker from Illinois said in Amsterdam.
It was the first confirmation from either US or Dutch authorities that air marshals had been deployed on Wednesday, when a Northwest Airlines flight returned to Amsterdam shortly after taking off for Mumbai because of the "suspect" behaviour of 12 Indian passengers.
Costello, part of a 12-member Congressional delegation which wrapped up a visit to the Netherlands on Friday, focused on transport safety, said he had been briefed on Thursday by US and Dutch officials.
The head of the delegation, Tennessee lawmaker John Duncan, said the Indian passengers had been acting suspiciously.
"They felt that there were passengers on the plane that were acting in a suspicious way, they conferred with both the flight attendants and the captain and they decided to turn the plane around and bring it back to the airport," he said.
{{/usCountry}}"They felt that there were passengers on the plane that were acting in a suspicious way, they conferred with both the flight attendants and the captain and they decided to turn the plane around and bring it back to the airport," he said.
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