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U.S. Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigation

In Reply, Please Refer to Release No.

219 South Dearborn Street Chicago, Illinois 60604

October 8, 2001 California Man Charged in Airline Incident Thomas J. Kneir, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), announced today the arrest of EDWARD A. COBURN, age 31, of Fresno, California.  COBURN was arrested by FBI Agents earlier today, without incident, at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.  COBURN was a passenger on American Airlines Flight 1238, which originated at Los Angeles International Airport en route to Chicago O'Hare, with a scheduled arrival time of 3:13 PM. COBURN will be charged in a criminal complaint filed tomorrow in US District Court in Chicago with "Interference with a flight crew," a felony offense.  It is alleged that while the American Airlines flight was airborne, COBURN attempted to enter the cockpit and had to be forcibly restrained by flight crew members and passengers.  No injuries were reported during this incident and the American flight landed safely at O'Hare airport.  While the incident was ongoing, the pilot of the American Airlines flight sent a distress call to the FAA at Chicago, who in turn notified the NORAD command in Cheyenne, Wyoming.  Two F-16 fighters were dispatched to intercept the airliner over northern Illinois.  They escorted the plane the remainder of the flight to Chicago. COBURN is being housed overnight at the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in Chicago and will appear in US District Court in Chicago, sometime tomorrow.  COBURN was not armed and is believed to suffer from an undetermined mental condition which can cause irrational behavior.  This incident is not related in any way to the terrorist attacks of September 11th.  The public is reminded that a complaint is not evidence of guilt and that all defendants in a criminal case are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

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