BANGOR – Denver resident Kelli Whitehall credited an American Airlines crew with keeping its cool and alleviating passenger concerns during a flight that was diverted to Bangor International Airport on Friday.

About six hours into the flight from Manchester, England, passengers of Flight 55 were told that a crew member was ill and that the flight to Chicago would be diverted to Bangor.

“Had I known really what was going on, I would have been really scared,” said Whitehall, 43, who was returning home on Friday from a business trip in England.

In reality, after the plane landed shortly before 1 p.m., authorities took one of the 167 passengers into custody as he reportedly was on a restricted flying list.

Whitehall said that during the flight, the airline crew remained calm and didn’t show any signs of nervousness, which reassured her.

With foiled terrorist plots and continued threats, Whitehall said she was reluctant to take a trans-Atlantic flight in the first place.

The incident has done little to relieve those concerns and may have put her more on edge.

“If my company says I’ve got to go again, it will be hard,” she said after authorities investigating the incident allowed her and other passengers to leave the secured lounge at BIA.

“It will be real hard to get on another plane and fly over there.”

Tired and anxious to get to Chicago after more than four hours at the airport, Amy Chignell, 28, of England said the incident provided some reassurances for her.

“To be honest, I’m quite relieved that this has gone on,” said the singer from Radditch, England. “At least we know everything is run properly.”