Probe into plane 'bomb plot'

FBI agents detained the suspect (right) on arrival

American and French authorities are investigating how a man apparently managed to smuggle explosives on to a transatlantic flight by hiding them in the heel of his shoe.

Passengers and crew overpowered him on Saturday afternoon during the American Airlines flight from Paris to Miami when he appeared to be attempting to ignite the explosives.

The flight attendants and passengers who helped subdue the suspect showed great bravery and poise

Acting Governor Jane Swift

The Boeing 767 jet, escorted by two US F-15 fighter jets, was diverted to Boston's Logan Airport where Federal Bureau of Investigation agents detained the man for questioning.

He is of Middle Eastern appearance and was travelling on a recently-issued British passport - which may have been false or obtained by using false identity papers - under the name Richard Reid.

Authorities said that a substance found in the suspect's shoe appeared to be the plastic explosive C-4, and of sufficent quantity to cause considerable damage to the aircraft. A crude detonator was fixed to the sole.

Security at Charles de Gaulle airport is under scrutiny

French authorities are trying to establish how the passenger managed to get on board, given the heightened security put in place after the 11 September suicide hijackings in the United States.

It is reported that the man had tried to board the Paris to Miami the day before but was prevented from doing so because he was acting suspiciously, had a one-way ticket and was carrying little luggage.

"For the moment, we do not know how this man got through," a French police official at Charles de Gaulle airport told the AFP news agency.

French police also report that he identified himself as a Sri Lankan.

But a spokesman for Scotland Yard in London told BBC News Online that the man was believed to be a British citizen.

He has initially been charged with "interfering with a flight crew" and will appear before a US federal court magistrate after the Christmas break.

The passengers arrived in Miami hours behind schedule

All 185 passengers and 12 crew members on American Airlines flight 63 were evacuated safely.

The passengers were detained for questioning and completed their trip to Miami early on Sunday.

One described how, two-and-a-half hours into the flight he was woken by a strong smell of burning and saw the man sitting in front of him trying to set fire to his shoe.

He said an air hostess quickly challenged the passenger but was knocked to the ground when he lunged at her.

Within seconds, he said, 10 or 12 men had jumped on the suspect. They pinned him to his seat and then, using neckties, belts and even headphones, bound him to the arm rests.

Two doctors who were among the passengers administered a sedative from the airliner's medical kit.

Another passenger, Josse Bernadett, told the Associated Press news agency: "We weren't afraid. He looked like a junkie. I don't think he was a terrorist."

'Heroic acts'

Acting Massachusetts Governor Jane Swift praised the passengers and crew.

"The flight attendants and passengers who helped subdue the suspect showed great bravery and poise in what was obviously a very dangerous situation," she said in a statement.

"Their heroic acts may have potentially saved the lives of the nearly 200 people on board Flight 63."

Security has been stepped up at both Logan and Charles de Gaulle airports. Passengers are now required to take off their shoes and put them through X-ray machines.

C-4 is a military plastic explosive. It can be easily moulded by hand, and has to be exploded with a detonator.

It was used in the October 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen, which killed 17 US sailors and wounded 39.