Bathroom Breaks Cause Security Scares on Two Sept. 11 Flights

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Elizabeth Conley / The Detroit News / AP

Security checks out the Frontier Airlines plane at Detroit Metro Airport.

Two incidents in airplane bathrooms put fighter jets, bomb squads and FBI centers to work on the 10th anniversary of 9/11.

The two situations can be chalked up to flight crews being extra cautious, or perhaps passengers having too many in-flight beverages. A Frontier Airlines flight from Denver to Detroit had to be escorted by F-16 fighter jets on Sunday after crew members said they noticed and reported “suspicious behavior” by multiple passengers.

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When the plane arrived in Detroit, it was taken to a remote area for a security screening and three passengers were questioned. No one was arrested and no bombs were found, but initial reports quoted law enforcement officials as saying that the two of the passengers who spoke with the FBI had retreated to the restroom to make out. But on Monday, the FBI released a statement saying that “at no time were there ever two people in the bathroom at the same time.”

In a separate incident aboard an American Airlines flight from Los Angeles to New York, a pilot became nervous when he noticed that several passengers were making frequent trips to the bathroom. He radioed for fighter jets to intervene, but federal marshals aboard the plane were able to straighten out the situation and the jets were called off. Three passengers were questioned when the plane arrived in New York, but no one was arrested there either.

MORE: Pilot Bathroom Breaks: The Latest Air-Safety Issue?

UPDATE: One of the three passengers detained in Detroit speaks out.

Frances Romero is a writer-reporter at TIME. Find her on Twitter at @frances_romero or on Tumblr. You can also continue the discussion on TIME’s Facebook page, on Twitter at @TIME and on TIME’s Tumblr.