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