SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – A Delta Air Lines pilot arrested Saturday after landing at San Francisco International Airport has been charged with child sex crimes.
The Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office said it learned the pilot – 34-year-old Rustom Bhagwagar – was due to fly for the airline to San Francisco.
At around 9:30 p.m. that evening, the sheriff’s office said its detectives and members from Homeland Security Investigations boarded the plane to arrest Bhagwagar.
It stated it had been doing an investigation into the pilot after getting a report of sex crimes against a child in April and had gotten a Ramey arrest warrant. This type of warrant allows police to arrest a suspect before formal charges are presented by prosecutors.
Bhagwagar was handcuffed while on the plane by a swarm of law enforcement officials and then walked through the airport in front of passengers.
“That is pretty unusual,” aviation expert and former San Francisco International Airport spokesman Mike McCarron told KCBS Radio.
“I’ve heard of pilots being arrested by a couple cops if they are drunk or some other thing, but to have that many officers going right in the cockpit and not even wait for him to get off the plane is a little unusual,” McCarron added.
He said such a move by law enforcement showed how important making that arrest was for investigators.
“The fact that he’s a pilot, it means he can go fly out of the country very easily, so I think they wanted to make sure they got a hold of him very quickly,” said McCarron.
Bhagwagar lives in Florida, but has ties to San Ramon. He was charged with five counts of oral copulation with a child under 10 years of age. He’s currently being held at the Martinez Detention Facility in lieu of a $5 million bail.
The Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office noted the investigation is ongoing and asks anyone with information connected to the case to call investigators at 925-313-2600, leave an anonymous voice message at 866-846-3592, or email tips@so.cccounty.us.