Ottawa:
A flight carrying Canadians on vacation to Panama was turned around and escorted back to Toronto by two fighter jets on Friday after an unruly passenger made threats against the aircraft.
Flight 772 carrying 181 passengers and six crew turned around approximately 45 minutes into the flight as it passed over West Virginia, a spokeswoman for the Sunwing airline told AFP.
Captain Jennifer Stadnyk at North American Aerospace Defense Command said two F16 fighter jets were diverted to escort the jetliner back to Toronto, where it landed safely and the passenger was arrested by police.
Video taken by other passengers and broadcast by CTV showed officers in body armor with weapons drawn boarding the plane.
Constable Lilly Fitzpatrick of the Peel Regional Police said a 25-year old Canadian man was taken into custody for questioning while a tactical unit "conducted a thorough search of the plane on the tarmac."
Charges against the individual were pending, she added.
Sunwing said the other passengers were expected to depart for Panama "later this afternoon."