UK-US flight in emergency divert

Security checked every piece of luggage from the flight

A London to Washington flight diverted to Boston with a fighter escort after the pilot declared an emergency following a disturbance on board.

A woman passenger on the United Airlines flight is said to have been involved in a confrontation with crew.

But reports that she was carrying items including a screwdriver, Vaseline, matches and a note referring to al-Qaeda have been denied.

Passengers and crew have all now disembarked from the plane safely.

Police took control of the plane after it landed, and security officials checked every item of luggage from the plane with sniffer dogs.

'Claustrophobic'

United Flight 923 from Heathrow Airport, with 182 passengers on board, was originally bound for Washington Dulles.

Escorted by two US Air Force fighter jets, it landed at Boston's Logan International Airport about 1020 local time (1420 GMT).

"There was an altercation with at least one female passenger," a United Airlines spokeswoman said.

Nenette Day, a spokeswoman for the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Boston, said the 60-year-old woman was apparently claustrophobic and had become disruptive on the flight.

"This isn't just an 'I want another drink kind of thing,' it was a disruption that caused them to divert the plane," she said.

"There are no known links to terrorism regarding this event at this time," Christopher White, a Transportation Security Administration spokesman said.

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