Diverted plane resumes flight to Morocco; passenger talking to FBI, officials say

<br>PORTLAND, Maine (AP) _ A Moroccan-bound jetliner that was diverted to Bangor resumed its route early Friday, and one passenger remained behind to talk to federal agents, federal authorities said. <br><br>The

Friday, February 20th 2004, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) _ A Moroccan-bound jetliner that was diverted to Bangor resumed its route early Friday, and one passenger remained behind to talk to federal agents, federal authorities said.

The passenger _ 27-year-old investment banker Zubiar Ali Ghias, who had been reported missing to Chicago police last Saturday _ was in Bangor and is not under arrest, FBI spokeswoman Gail Marcinkiewicz said.

``The investigation is continuing and he continues to be cooperative,'' she said.

Ghias was one of 91 people aboard Royal Air Maroc Flight 201 when it took off from New York's Kennedy International Airport for Casablanca Thursday evening, the FBI said. Federal authorities diverted the Boeing 767 to Bangor, where it landed about four hours later, the agency said.

The official Moroccan news agency, MAP, citing said two people were removed from the plane, not one.

It was not immediately clear why the plane was diverted.

Marcinkiewicz cited calls from Chicago-area media to an airline security desk in New York reporting a possible bomb.

``There was no bomb,'' she said.

Marcinkiewicz declined to comment on statements from a private investigator in Chicago who said he called the FBI after Ghias called his family using a fellow passenger's cell phone to say he had been abducted by al-Quaida.

Transportation Security Administration spokesman Mark Hatfield said the plane was redirected because of a bomb threat. He said the threat was apparently made by a passenger on the plane.

Holly Baker, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration in New England, said she knew nothing about a bomb threat. Baker said the plane was diverted because ``there was a person aboard who they felt was a security risk.''

The private investigator, Eddie Rizzo, told The Associated Press that Ghias called from the Royal Air Maroc flight. Rizzo said Ghias had last been seen by his family on Saturday. He said he was hired to track Ghias to New York through his credit cards.

Rizzo quoted Ghias as telling his wife, ``I'm on flight 201 to Morocco. I've been captured by al-Qaida, they want me to do something for them. I love you, I just gotta do this.''

Rizzo said Ghias had apparently used the cell phone of another passenger. Rizzo said he called back the number, and the passenger confirmed the flight number. Rizzo said he summoned the FBI to the family's apartment, and the FBI questioned the family.

Rizzo's account could not be immediately confirmed.

The plane, carrying 81 passengers and 10 crew members, landed at Bangor International Airport in Maine around 11:15 p.m., officials said.

Passengers were rescreened and the plane was refueled before taking off at 3:51 a.m., Marcinkiewicz said.