United Airlines Flight 663

United Airlines Flight 663 is a regularly scheduled United Airlines flight from Washington D.C. to Denver, Colorado with continuing service to Las Vegas, Nevada. A "minor international incident" involving a Qatari diplomat occurred on the flight in 2010.
2010 incident
On April 7, 2010, a disturbance involving a passenger happened en route to Denver International Airport. Officials identified the passenger as Mohammed al-Madadi, a diplomat from the Embassy of Qatar in Washington, D.C. FBI officials took al-Madadi into custody, and the plane landed safely in Denver. The North American Aerospace Defense Command scrambled two F-16 fighters from Buckley Air Force Base to intercept and escort the plane into Denver. Officials said the incident was a misunderstanding after al-Madadi attempted to smoke a pipe in the lavatory, then made "an unfortunate remark" after being confronted by two members of the Federal Air Marshal Service. Law enforcement officials said al-Madadi mentioned "lighting his shoes," taken as a reference to shoe bomber Richard Reid.
Qatari Ambassador to the United States Ali Bin Fahad Al-Hajri issued a statement on the Embassy website:
Press reports today regarding an incident aboard a commercial flight from Washington, DC to Denver, CO indicate that a Qatari diplomat was detained for suspicious behavior. We respect the necessity of special security precautions involving air travel, but this diplomat was traveling to Denver on official Embassy business on my instructions, and he was certainly not engaged in any threatening activity. The facts will reveal that this was a mistake, and we urge all concerned parties to avoid reckless judgments or speculation.
The Associated Press reported that al-Madadi was traveling on official Embassy business to visit Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, a jailed al-Qaeda conspirator held at United States Penitentiary, Florence. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano praised the air marshals, who had been deployed in greater numbers following the attempted on-air bombing by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab on December 25, 2009.
Felony charges would be applicable for non-diplomats. A source told the Associated Press al-Madadi would not face criminal charges because of diplomatic immunity. The suspect was released following interviews with law enforcement officials. United States Department of State officials said al-Madadi was removed from the country by Qatar, rather than being declared persona non grata by the U.S. government and expelled from the United States. Al-Madadi left the United States on April 9, 2010.
The incident sparked debate about how a matter of this nature should be handled.

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