New details have emerged about why a pilot was arrested at San Francisco International Airport on Saturday, July 26, in an incident reportedly involving a Delta Air Lines flight.
Rustom Bhagwagar, 34, was arrested and booked on five counts of oral copulation with a child under 10 years of age, the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office said on Monday, July 28. Authorities said they learned that Bhagwagar, of Florida, was an airline pilot due to fly into SFO on the evening of Saturday, July 26, amid an investigation that authorities had conducted since April after receiving a report of sex crimes against a child.
At about 9:35 p.m., Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office detectives, with the assistance of Homeland Security Investigations, boarded the plane to arrest Bhagwagar.
Authorities did not name which airline Bhagwagar worked for in their announcement on July 28.
However, the Associated Press reported early July 28 that the Department of Homeland Security confirmed an unnamed pilot had been arrested on charges related to child sex abuse materials. The pilot was aboard a Delta Air Lines flight that landed at SFO on July 26, the Associated Press said.
It follows earlier reports from the San Francisco Chronicle and blog View From The Wing about an unidentified pilot on a Delta Air Lines flight being arrested at SFO on the evening of July 26.
Delta Air Lines did not directly respond to the Desert Sun’s inquiry on whether Bhagwagar worked for the airline. However, the airline did provide a statement in an email about an arrest at SFO.
“Delta has zero tolerance for unlawful conduct and will fully cooperate with law enforcement. We are appalled by reports of the charges related to the arrest and the individual in question has been suspended pending an investigation.”
The investigation is ongoing, according to the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office.
Pilot arrested at SFO: Here’s what we know about what happened
News broke this weekend about an unidentified pilot that had been arrested after a Delta Air Lines flight from Minnesota arrived at the San Francisco International Airport on Saturday, July 26.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported the arrest occurred “moments after Flight 2809 from Minneapolis” landed at the airport, which the Chronicle said landed around 9:35 p.m.
On July 28, the San Francisco Chronicle linked Bhagwagar to that Delta flight.
View From The Wing shared a brief clip of what appeared to be at least two officers in plainclothes with a badge dangling from their necks near the cockpit.
Paris Barraza is a trending reporter covering California news at The Desert Sun. Reach her at pbarraza@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Pilot arrested at San Francisco airport over sex crimes against child
Reporting by Paris Barraza, Palm Springs Desert Sun / Palm Springs Desert Sun
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