Pilot accused of child sex crimes is taken from cockpit minutes after flight lands in California
Just 10 minutes after a Delta plane landed at San Francisco International Airport, law enforcement and federal agents entered the cockpit and apprehended a pilot, authorities say.
The arrest Saturday left passengers agape.
The officers and agents “were pushing their way up through the aisle” and into the cockpit, where they cuffed the co-pilot before leading him away, one passenger told the San Francisco Chronicle.
Rustom Bhagwagar, a 34-year-old Florida resident, was arrested on suspicion of sexual crimes against a minor.
Contra Costa County sheriff’s deputies and Department of Homeland Security agents apprehended Bhagwagar about 9:35 p.m. Saturday after the Delta Air Lines flight from Minneapolis landed at SFO, according to a sheriff’s news release.
Authorities said Bhagwagar was arrested and booked into the Martinez Detention Facility on five counts of oral copulation with a child under the age of 10. His bail was set at $5 million.
The investigation into Bhagwagar began months ago after authorities received reports that he had allegedly committed a sexual crime against a child, according to the release. Contra Costa deputies discovered that Bhagwagar was a pilot and — with assistance from Homeland Security, which did not take part in the investigation — apprehended him once the flight concluded.
A spokesperson from Delta Air Lines said in a statement to The Times that it would cooperate with authorities and has “zero tolerance” for the alleged unlawful conduct.
Deputies said the investigation was continuing. Anyone with information is urged to contact the sheriff’s Investigations Division at (925) 313-2600 or at (866) 846-3592 for anonymous tips.
