A Delta co-pilot was arrested onboard moments after his flight landed in San Francisco. The charges against him are extremely lurid, helping to explain the curious nature of the arrest. Here’s the latest we know about this matter.
Delta Co-Pilot Arrested After Landing In San Francisco
Delta Flight 2809, arriving into San Francisco (SFO) from Minneapolis (MSP) on Saturday, July 26, 2025 at approximately 9:35 pm local time, became the site of an immediate arrest aboard the 757-300 plane, as first shared by View From The Wing.
Federal agents—approximately ten officers, including Homeland Security Investigations agents and local investigators from the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office—boarded the aircraft just as passengers were gathering their bags. Witnesses say they “stormed the cockpit,” took the co-pilot into custody in handcuffs, and escorted him down the aisle and off the plane. A second team later retrieved his personal belongings from the aircraft.
According to reports from the sheriff’s office and local authorities, the co-pilot has been identified as 34-year-old Rustom Bhagwagar, charged with five counts of oral copulation with a child under age 10. He was booked into the Martinez Detention Facility on $5 million bail. Investigators say the probe began in April 2025, following a report of sex crimes involving a child.
Passengers described confusion and shock. One said even the remaining pilot seemed unaware of what had happened. A woman seated in first class watched the situation unfold, explaining:
“A group of people with badges, guns, and different agency vests/markings were pushing their way up through the aisle to the cockpit. They stormed the cockpit, cuffed the co-pilot, arrested him, walked him down the aisle, and ushered him off the plane through the cabin doors located between first and coach.”
Another passenger shared the co-pilot had no idea what was going on:
“I looked at him and I said, ‘What’s going on?’ He said, ‘I have no idea,’ And he genuinely looked like this was a surprise that all of a sudden there were people on the plane because he had had us stand up, we were starting to take our stuff out for arrival and everybody was already in the overhead bins.”
Delta issued a statement saying it has “zero tolerance” for unlawful conduct, the co-pilot is now suspended, and the airline will “fully cooperate with law enforcement.”
“Delta has zero tolerance for unlawful conduct and will fully cooperate with law enforcement. We are appalled by reports of the charges related to the arrest and the individual in question has been suspended pending an investigation.”
So far, law enforcement has not released additional details and the investigation is ongoing.
One has to wonder why 10 officers were needed to storm the cockpit. If they thought he might have been armed and dangerous, didn’t law enforcement officials put the lives of everyone onboard at risk?
CONCLUSION
Saying this is a very disturbing case is quite an understatement. It appears the investigation had been ongoing for months, but the decision was made to allow the flight to complete before making the arrest so as to trap him in the flight deck. While he is innocent until proven guilty, Delta has already suspended the pilot and pledged cooperation. We’ll continue to follow the story and provide relevant updates.
image: Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Department
It sounds like an over reaction on the part of the police, they only needed to wait at the aircraft door and it would have spared all the drama. I’m just surprised they didn’t shoot him in the back just in case he resisted. This is the US after all.
That is a ridiculous comment. Armchair policeman.
So would they not have been able to take him into custody had they waited at the aircraft door? Or are you just a drama lover who approves of US police shooting people in the back?
It wouldn’t happen in a civilised country.
James,
Questioning why law enforcement did what they did is rather futile.
1. The FO just flew MSP-SFO. Do I know his schedule for that day? No. but it stands to reason he had no reason whatsoever to leave the cockpit since he was likely flying directly back to MSP and never leaving the plane. Or continuing to another Delta hub
2. I can’t speak to this exact gate, but most terminals have windows. If agents stood outside the gate waiting, the FO could’ve seen them and attempted to delete digital evidence.
3. Wait in the jet bridge for customers to deplane? Perhaps, but it ignores that most plane customers would start quite the murmuring if cops were waiting right outside the plane door — again, an ability for the FO to potentially delete incriminating evidence
4. If the FO had a gun in the cockpit (not uncommon post 9/11), he could’ve inflicted self-harm seeing anything that worried him.
5. Let’s be honest. none of us know the FO’s past. If ANYTHING tipped him off, he could’ve had a past of violence where agents were concerned about passenger safety.
Calm down. Nothing was wrong here except putting a sexual organ into a VERY minor’s mouth. let’s not confuse the guilty party with law enforcement’s desire to prevent harm to passengers and the desire for justice.
@Max … Exactly correct .
WTF? You are nutz! Move to Russia or Cuba if you want to live in a police state. You Trump supporters just don’t get it….this is not America, and the theatrics only work on idiots like yourself.
Arresting likely child abusers without harm to passengers is “theatrics”?
Always nice to know where everyone stands, Michael.
All excellent points.
You do understand this is not about the alleged crime. A separate issue is about this execution off an arrest that endangers innocents.
If a nation brings in the third world … then it will become the third world .
Excellent job by the officers . Trapping him by surprise in the flight deck was the optimum method of capture .
XenoAlert. The optimum method of capture would not include risking a ricochet in a metal tube full of innocent passengers.
Also it is much better from an officer safety standpoint to make the arrest in a secure environment like an aircraft, instead of at home where the suspect might barricade himself and/or have a huge stash of weaponry.
No worries, Trump will pardon him, too. He just needs to make a large donation to the slush fund, um, cough cough, I mean Presidential Library Foundation.
Let’s mark this on our calendar. Pardon by 2028. I doubt it.
When stupid idiots were created you were first in line.
Will never happen. Hes not white
Scott Kirby somehow did this to make damage Delta’s pristine image
– Tim Dunn
STFU Billy Bobbidy boy your jokes suck.
Go outside and play with your kids… oh, what am I saying?! Kids?! You couldn’t even pay a prostitute to go near you
So now we know what Tim Dunn does on his off time
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLLOL!!!!
That’s uncalled for. I’m certainly not a fan of Tim but cheap shots just because it happens to be a Delta pilot aren’t going to do much to illustrate that Tim is a little out there.
It’s incredibly disappointing if he is implying that Tim is into that stuff.
I hope Tim Dunn is not into that and I truly doubt he is, but he is the one on VFTW that said “he who is without sin can throw the first stone.”
Verbatim — after acknowledging what the pilot did 2 minutes previously.
What a twisted view of Christianity but all in support of his “delta rocks” ethos. Then proceeded to go off on most other posters protesting the pilot while Tim claimed they were blaming Delta.
The New Testament phrase has its place, but I will absolutely judge a sick twisted man that does that to girls under age 10, assuming he is guilty. Defending them has no place ANYWHERE. Much less to say Delta isn’t to blame. Of course Delta isn’t to blame, but you don’t need to say “who are we to judge” about a sick man because he works for Delta.
No one has ever seen Tim Dunn defend other child abusers, in any way whatsoever, unless they work for Delta — that’s the sick part. The sick part is using the Bible to defend child abusers for Delta employees only.
“but he is the one on VFTW that said “he who is without sin can throw the first stone.””
He also said it on OMAAT…
Castrate him, and do it on the most painful manner possible
“As someone with zero law enforcement experience or expertise, I don’t agree with how those with extensive law enforcement experience and expertise handled this situation.” – people responding to this
They probably like storming the plane. Makes them feel big. Probably an easy job, not like chasing on foot a criminal in the dark and with a gun.
The guy is likely guilty. Sometimes, innocent people are arrested but this looks like a guilty guy.
His ex- allegedly participated in the rapes but I don’t know if she was arrested. If she wasn’t, it could be a disgruntled ex-. That has happened before.
Cop 1: Let’s arrest the guy quietly after he disembarks. No fuss, no hassle.
Cop 2: Nah, let’s storm the cockpit with a dozen troops armed with assault weapons and scare the bejesus out of everyone. That’ll show them!
Sure looks like it was for some theater