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On July 26, 2025, law enforcement officers arrested Delta Air Lines first officer Rustom Bhagwagar upon arrival at San Francisco International Airport. The arrest took place after flight DL2809 from Minneapolis landed and parked at the gate. According to an official announcement by the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office, a team of ten officers from local police and the Department of Homeland Security boarded the aircraft to apprehend Bhagwagar.
The sheriff's office stated, "At about 9:35 PM, Sheriff’s Office detectives, with the assistance of Homeland Security Investigations, boarded the plane to arrest the suspect who is identified as 34-year-old Rustom Bhagwagar of Florida. He was booked into the Martinez Detention Facility on five counts of oral copulation with a child under 10 years of age. He is being held in lieu of $5 million bail."
Authorities had been investigating Bhagwagar for several months following a report received in April 2025 concerning sex crimes against a child. Officers learned that he would be arriving in San Francisco and waited for him at the airport gate to ensure his immediate detention. The arrest occurred while passengers were disembarking; many reportedly witnessed Bhagwagar being escorted down the aisle in handcuffs as law enforcement also removed his luggage.
