PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Authorities say a misunderstanding about a Jewish prayer ritual led to the diversion of a US Airways flight to Philadelphia.
City police Lt. Frank Vanore says a 17-year-old boy on the plane was using tefillin, a set of small black boxes attached to leather straps and containing biblical passages. One box is strapped to the arm; the other box is placed on the head.
Vanore says the crew on US Airways Flight 3079 questioned the teen, who explained the ritual. Still, the pilot decided to land in Philadelphia.
The flight had left La Guardia airport in New York on Thursday morning bound for Louisville, Ky. It landed without incident in Philadelphia around 9 a.m.
Vanore says the teen has been very cooperative with law enforcement.
