LaGuardia Scare Sparked by Woman’s Mistake About Flier’s Phone Videos, Camera: Source

A woman traveling with children worried another passenger on a New York City-bound flight was watching “suspicious” videos on his phone and reported him, forcing the emergency landing at LaGuardia Airport over the weekend, a law enforcement source with direct knowledge of the case told News 4 Tuesday.

According to the source, the woman first saw the man watch videos she thought were sketchy. Then the man took out an odd-looking object and began fiddling with it, the source said. The woman feared he was watching suspicious videos and then took out a “suspicious” device — and that’s what was alerted to authorities.

It turns out, though, the man was watching videos on how to set and repair an antique camera, the law enforcement said. And then he took out an antique camera to try to adjust it, the source added.

The man was questioned by authorities for a total of about four hours between FBI and Port Authority investigators after what police and airline officials referred to as a “security incident.” He was later released.

No criminal charges were expected to be filed, officials have said.

The Republic Airways Flight 4817 landed safely at the airport in Queens around 3 p.m. Saturday, a few hours after it departed Indianapolis, the FAA confirmed. All 80 passengers and crew were safely removed from the aircraft.

Several videos posted to social media around the time of the plane’s landing showed a significant emergency response from local fire and police units.

Video captured by a passenger and shared with NBC News showed firefighters attending to one person lying facedown on the taxiway.

An email request to Republic Airways Tuesday seeking comment on the flight crew’s handling of the situation was not immediately returned.