Panama police detain 6 Syrians, 1 Cuban

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PANAMA CITY, SEPT 26 (AP): Six Syrians and a Cuban who were detained in Panama after a flight crew reported suspicious behavior told authorities that three of them had approached the cockpit by mistake, police said Tuesday.
The men, who were traveling together on a Copa Airlines flight from Cuba, were also suspected of taking a knife that went missing after breakfast was served in the first-class cabin where they were sitting, Panama's National Police said in a news release.
Police said three of the men approached the cockpit door and tried to open it. They told investigators they confused it with the bathroom, the statement said. Panama's Judicial Police also said the men tried to get into the cockpit.
The plane landed safely shortly before noon.
Judicial Police Director Jose Ayu Prado said the Syrians, ages 17 to 30, were headed for Haiti and Jamaica after a layover in Panama. The Cuban passenger was en route to Argentina, the aviation authority said in a statement.
Like many commercial airlines, Copa ordered cockpit doors locked on its jetliners after the Sept. 11, 2001, airplane attacks in the United States.