Boston plane halted at takeoff

BOSTON -- A Delta Air Lines flight from Boston to Florida was aborted before takeoff Thursday after a passenger demanded to be let out and allegedly made a threat. \nThe plane was on the runway and was supposed to head to Orlando, Fla. Instead, it taxied back to the terminal area and its 118 passengers were taken off the plane. \nRichard Lambertsen, 49, of Cocoa, Fla., was charged with interference with a flight crew, state police Sgt. Edward Principe said. \n"He made inappropriate remarks that alarmed the captain of the plane," said Phil Orlandella, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Port Authority, which runs Logan airport. He did not elaborate on the threat. \n"It was not a bomb threat," Orlandella said. "He did not have a weapon. He did not say he was going to blow up the plane." \nLuggage was rescreened and the aircraft was checked. The Delta Express plane left about three hours late. \nSecurity has been an issue at Logan since it was the starting point for the two hijacked airliners that destroyed the World Trade Center Sept. 11. \nIn a separate incident, a Virgin Atlantic flight attendant was ordered held on $250,000 bail Thursday for allegedly writing a bomb threat aboard a plane in January, forcing the London-to-Orlando flight to be diverted to Iceland. \nMichael Philippe, a 25-year-old French citizen, was arrested Wednesday in New Jersey and charged with interference with crew members on an international flight. He faces up to 20 years in prison if found guilty. \nDuring a court appearance in Newark, prosecutors gave no motive for his actions, and his defense lawyer, David Holman, refused to discuss the case with reporters. \nJan. 19, Virgin Atlantic Flight 27 was en route to Florida when the message, "American must die," was found on a bathroom mirror written in soap, officials said. \nA second message, written on an air sickness bag, stated, "Ben Laden is the best Americans must die there is a bomb on board Al Quaida." \nPhilippe reported finding the threats, authorities said. \nThe Boeing 747 was diverted to Keflavik, Iceland, where the 322 passengers and 18 crew were questioned and asked to give handwriting samples. The plane finished the flight the next day. \nVirgin Atlantic Airways said Thursday Philippe is a French national who has been with the airline two years and had passed the airline's background checks.