Diplomat Arrested in Plane Disturbance

Federal air marshals restrained a man who allegedly attempted to light his shoes on fire aboard a United Airlines plane headed from Washington, D.C., to Denver Wednesday night. An explosives team headed to the airport to examine the scene. The incident could have been an attempt at a “shoe bomb,” or simply a joke gone wrong—the man could have been trying to light a cigarette. Authorities said the suspect was Mohammed al Modadi, a diplomat at the Qatar embassy in Washington. The FBI told ABC News that al Modadi had diplomatic immunity as the third secretary and vice-consul. Two fighter jets were scrambled from Buckley Air Force Base to accompany United Flight 663, a Boeing 757, as it flew the last 40 miles of its flight to Denver. (It landed safely and was directed to a remote location at the airport.)