Qatar's U.S. ambassador rushed to the defense of his envoy whom authorities say grabbed a surreptitious smoke in a jetliner's bathroom, sparking a bomb scare and widespread alert that sent jet fighters scrambling to intercept the Denver-bound flight.
But no explosives were found and authorities speaking on condition of anonymity said they don't think he was trying to hurt anyone during Wednesday's scare and he will not be criminally charged.
Qatar's U.S. ambassador, Ali Bin Fahad Al-Hajri, cautioned against a rush to judgment.
"This diplomat was traveling to Denver on official embassy business on my instructions, and he was certainly not engaged in any threatening activity," he said in a statement on his Washington embassy's Web site. "The facts will reveal that this was a mistake."
The ambassador did not mention the diplomat by name, but an Arab envoy briefed on the matter identified him as Mohammed Al-Madadi of Qatar, an oil-rich Middle East nation and close U.S. ally.
How'd he light the cigarette?
By: Brant
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