Sick passenger forces flight to divert to BIA

BANGOR – A woman complaining of stomach pain caused an inbound international flight from Amsterdam, Netherlands, to be diverted to Bangor International Airport on Monday.

The DC-10, operated by Northwest Airlines, landed at BIA at 12:05 p.m. The woman, who was from Nigeria and claimed to be in her 35th week of pregnancy, was taken by Bangor ambulance to Eastern Maine Medical Center. The woman’s name was unavailable due to client confidentiality, according to airport director Rebecca Hupp.

Originally headed for Newark, N.J., the plane left Amsterdam at 11:15 a.m. (Amsterdam time) and was expected to land in Newark just after 2 p.m. EST. The plane holds 240 passengers.

The occupants of the plane cleared customs at the airport and returned to the same plane, Hupp said. The plane left for Newark at 1:54 p.m.

“It’s very routine that planes will be rerouted to Bangor,” Hupp said. “We are a transit point.”