FBI clears, releases Air India passenger

Authorities isolated Air India Flight 101 on the tarmac after it landed Thursday at JFK Airport.

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Federal authorities questioned and released an Air India passenger after a flight from London to New York landed under fighter escort Thursday, a government official told CNN.

Two U.S. F-15 fighter jets escorted Air India Flight 101 to John F. Kennedy International Airport around 4:45 p.m. after an airport screener in London told authorities that one of the aircraft's passengers resembled a man on an international watch list. Port Authority police surrounded the Boeing 747, which contained 378 passengers and 21 crew members, as it taxied off the main tarmac.

FBI agents met the plane and the passenger, identified by Air India as Akhtar Adeel. Agents are sent to airports several times a week to meet planes carrying "suspicious passengers," FBI sources told CNN.

Adeel, whose nationality was not immediately released, was traveling with a woman, the airline said. He was interviewed and released about two hours after being taken into custody.

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"He has been cleared," a U.S. official said. "It's over."

A security screener at London's Heathrow Airport thought the passenger resembled a man on a "no-fly" list, but neglected to report that until the plane left England, U.S. transportation officials said. The international watch lists include photos and names of suspected terrorists and people who may have information that may aid in anti-terrorist investigations.

The screener committed "a clear breach of security" by allowing the man to board the plane without checking further into the matter, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

Canadian F-18 fighters from the North American Aerospace Defense Command initially shadowed the flight before being relieved by the two U.S. fighter jets, a spokesman for Otis Air National Guard Base in Falmouth, Massachusetts, said.

There were no reports of any disturbance aboard the aircraft and, as far as it knows, the passenger in question was not restrained, the FBI said. U.S. officials alerted the plane's cockpit crew about the situation during the flight.

An Air India official, who asked not to be identified, said the incident was "blown completely out of proportion."

An FBI spokesman said, adding that agents met the flight because of "an abundance of caution" and not because the incident was considered dangerous.

-- CNN Correspondent Susan Candiotti contributed to this report.