Detained Passenger Released

September 16, 2001

Dhaval Shah, one of three passengers forcibly removed from American Airlines Flight 133 Thursday night, said he was questioned for about half an hour by Port Authority police before being released.

"This was a mistake," he said, adding that the other two passengers also were released.

Shah, who identified himself as a jeweler from Hong Kong, said he had been asleep and had been startled when 10 Port Authority police officers burst in and dragged him from the plane. Afterward, he said, the police were friendly and said they just wanted to make sure his identification was genuine.

Then, he said, police dropped him back off at the terminal at Kennedy Airport.

Shah was among 11 people detained at Kennedy and LaGuardia airports Thursday. As of yesterday, only one of those was still in custody, but had not been charged.

The other people detained were cleared of any connection with the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, federal authorities said Friday.

FBI officials said Friday that the detentions resulted from extra scrutiny by airline personnel and law enforcement agents.

While flights have resumed, airport security around the country is on a high-level alert for anything out of the ordinary.