D.C.-bound passenger on no-fly list

U.S. officials are investigating how a Moroccan man whose U.S. work visa had been revoked by the State Department in June because of suspected terrorist activity was allowed to board an Air France flight to Washington on Saturday with an expired passport.

Flight 026 from Paris to Washington Dulles International Airport was diverted to Bangor, Maine, after U.S. officials discovered that the man was listed on the government’s no-fly list. The man’s name also was on the State Department’s terrorist watch list and visa revocation list, a Homeland Security official said Sunday.

The man and another man traveling with him were removed from the jet in Bangor. The two men are scheduled to return to France on a flight from Boston tonight. The companion is leaving the country voluntarily. The Homeland Security official, who had knowledge of the incident but would not allow his name to be used because the investigation is ongoing, would not identify the Moroccan man.

Flight 026 eventually flew on to Dulles, arriving more than two hours late. The jet, a Boeing 777, had 263 passengers on board.

Passengers, who were unaware there was a problem until they were in U.S. airspace, said everything went smoothly, though some were alarmed by the incident.

Yolanda Clark, a spokeswoman with the Transportation Security Administration, said the agency is “going to be interested in looking into why the passenger was allowed to fly.” There hasn’t been a decision on whether a fine will be levied against Air France, she said.

A jet carrying Yusuf Islam, the singer formerly known as Cat Stevens, was forced to land in Maine on Sept. 21 because he was on a list of people prohibited from flying. Islam was on a United Airlines flight from London to Washington.