Two U.S. jetliners were forced to divert for security reasons Friday among multiple flight- related incidents taking place in one day, CNN television reported.

An American Airlines flight from Manchester, Britain to Chicago was forced to divert to Bangor, Maine for reasons U.S. officials would not elaborate.

The Boeing 767 carrying 167 passengers and 12 crew members was diverted at the request of the Transportation Security Administration, according to the report.

FBI officials declined to discuss details of the diversion but said some passengers will be interviewed.

Meanwhile, a U.S. Airways flight was diverted to Oklahoma City after a federal air marshal subdued a passenger who was involved in an incident with a flight attendant.

The Charlotte, N.C.-bound flight had left Phoenix, Ariz. at 6: 15 a.m. and there were 141 people on board, including crew members.

Moreover, an Aer Lingus jet from New York to Dublin was evacuated in the morning during a scheduled stopover in western Ireland following a bomb threat that turned out to be unfounded.

In Houston, Tex., FBI agents are questioning a college student traveling from Buenos Aires on Continental flight 52 after bomb- sniffing dogs at the international arrivals area noticed something in his luggage.

The flight flew on to Newark, N.J., without the student and his luggage and was swept for explosives as a precaution.

U.S. authorities are investigating why the student, who got off the plane in Houston before it continued to Newark, had the explosive residue and what he intended to do with it.

The student claimed that he works in mining and often handles explosives, so that will explain the residue.

In other incidents, a utility knife was found on a vacant passenger seat of a U.S. Airways flight traveling from Philadelphia to Connecticut.

Authorities in Connecticut said they received an emergency call at about 8:25 a.m. reporting that a passenger on the flight had found the knife and reported it to a flight attendant.

When the plane arrived, troopers boarded the aircraft, seized the knife as evidence and interviewed passengers.

Also, a Continental Airlines Flight for Bakersfield, Texas, was diverted to EL Paso after the crew discovered a missing panel in the toilet. It was not immediately clear where the flight originated.

Source: Xinhua