No Evidence Of Terrorism Found

Despite suspicious activity and refusing to heed the directions of the cabin crew, all 12 men arrested after the emergency landing of a Northwest Airlines flight bound for India Wednesday will be released from custody -- with authorities saying there was no evidence the men were about to commit an act of terrorism.

"A thorough investigation of the cell phones in the plane found that the phones were not manipulated and no explosives were found on board the plane," read a statement from the prosecutor's office in Haarlem, which has jurisdiction over Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport. "From the statements of the suspects and the witnesses, no evidence could be brought forward that these men were about to commit an act of violence."

Those cell phones, as well as other equipment, are what initially aroused suspicion onboard Flight 42. When instructed to put them away by the flight crew, the men reportedly refused -- prompting the pilot of the DC-10 to radio for help as the plane flew over Germany.

As Aero-News reported, the flight was escorted back to Amsterdam by a pair of Dutch F-16s.

The Associated Press reports all the men were between 25-35 years old, and spoke Urdu -- a language spoken by Pakistanis, and Indian Muslims -- and it is not clear if the men understood the crew's instructions. They were dressed in traditional attire.

US air marshals were also reportedly onboard the flight, and passengers said they were suspicious of the mens' intentions, as well.

"I saw the air marshals walking, and then you know something's wrong," the Algemeen Dagblad newspaper quoted a Dutch passenger as saying.

While officials have determined the incident to be a misunderstanding -- likely agitated by the current security climate on airlines throughout the world -- some were not content with the Dutch government's assessment of the incident.

"I don't know how close we were, but my gut tells me these people wanted to hijack the airplane," said passenger Nitin Patel to the paper.

FMI: www.nwa.com