'Suspicious' Activity on Plane at BWI? Looking at Phone

Four people were questioned and a plane was delayed for several hours at Baltimore-Washington International Airport Tuesday morning as authorities investigated a report of suspicious activity.

Someone aboard the Spirit Airlines flight alerted authorities after another passenger “...made a comment or exhibited unusual behavior” that aroused suspicion, BWI’s spokesman told Fox 45.

Spirit Airlines flight 969 was bound for Chicago O’Hare and had just left the gate when a woman and child got up from their seats and rapidly headed for the back of the plane as it was taxiing, according to a WJLA reporter aboard.

The 6 a.m. takeoff was delayed and four people with backpacks were removed from the plane, WJLA reported.

Luggage was removed and investigated by a bomb-sniffing K-9 on the tarmac, according to WBAL.

The ”suspicious activity” prompting the search was someone watching a news report on a cell phone, Sgt. Jonathan Green of the Maryland Transportation Authority told The Baltimore Sun.

A married couple, relative and someone sitting in their area were questioned and released without charges, Green said.

Once inspected and cleared for takeoff, the plane departed at 9:27 a.m., according to Flight Aware.

The incident in Baltimore comes the day after the Islamic State (ISIS) released a video threatening to attack Washington, D.C., in a fashion similar to the terrorist attacks that killed more than 125 people in Paris Friday.

Police departments, NFL teams and airports are among those heightening security, according to CNN.

The Spirit Airlines incident occurred two days after a similar suspicious event at Reagan National.

American Airlines flight 2124, which was bound for Logan International, was delayed two hours Sunday night at Reagan International when crew members reported concerns about two passengers, who were questioned and booked on a different flight, The Washington Post reports.

This is a developing story. Stay with Patch for updates.

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