The Delta Airlines co-pilot arrested moments after his plane landed at San Francisco Airport on suspicion of appalling child sex crimes has been named and pictured.
Rustom Bhagwagar, 34, was cuffed and arrested by Contra Costa County detectives around 9.35pm after his flight, Delta 2809, from Minneapolis touched down at San Francisco International Airport on Saturday.
It can now be revealed Bhagwagar, of Homestead, Florida, was booked into the Martinez Detention Facility on five counts of oral copulation with a child under the age of 10.
Bhagwagar, who was pictured in his pilot uniform in his stone-faced mugshot, is being held in jail in lieu of $5 million bail, according to jail records viewed by Daily Mail.
In viral video footage, plain clothed Homeland Security investigators were seen swarming the aircraft before nabbing Bhagwagar.
They were assisting the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Department after receiving a tip about alleged sex crimes against a child, a spokesperson with the Department of Homeland Security told Daily Mail.
A Ramey arrest warrant, which is issued by a judge before criminal charges are filed, was then served to the suspect.
Federal Aviation records viewed by Daily Mail reveal Bhagwagar was licensed to fly a Boeing 757-300 – the type of plane used for the Delta 2809 flight on Saturday evening.
Rustom Bhagwagar, 34, was pictured in his pilot uniform in his mugshot after he was arrested Saturday evening on suspicion of child sex crimes
The agents were seen wearing law enforcement badges around their necks and their faces cropped out of the footage shared online
Confirming his arrest and releasing his mugshot, Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement to Daily Mail: ‘Detectives from the Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff Investigation Division had been conducting an investigation since April 2025 after receiving a report of sex crimes against a child.
‘Through the investigation, it was learned that the suspect was an airline pilot and that he was due to fly into San Francisco International Airport on the evening of Saturday, July 26, 2025.’
Dramatic video captured the moment the pilot was arrested as federal authorities stormed the aircraft shortly after it landed in California.
The agents were seen wearing law enforcement badges around their necks and their faces cropped out of the footage shared online.
After the first set of agents slapped handcuffs on Bhagwager, a second team returned to the plane to collect his personal belongings.
The arrest appeared to shock the other employees on the flight, including the remaining pilot.
That pilot, who has not been identified, ‘had no idea what just happened,’ View from the Wing reported.
Passengers were also left in awe, as one recalled asking a member of the flight crew what was happening.
Bhagwagar, of Homestead, Florida was arrested in this cabin. He was booked into the Martinez Detention Facility on five counts of oral copulation with a child under the age of 10
Homeland Security investigators swarmed the plane while assisting the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Department in the arrest
‘I looked at him and said “What’s going on?” He said, “I have no idea,”‘ the passenger told Fox 9.
‘And he genuinely looked like this was a surprise, that all of a sudden there was people on the plane, because he had us stand up, we were starting to take our stuff out for arrival and everybody was already in the overhead bin.’
Another passenger told the San Francisco Chronicle exactly what they saw while sitting in first class.
‘A group of people with badges, guns and different agency vests/markings were pushing their way through the aisle to the cockpit,’ they told the outlet.
The investigation into Bhagwagar remains ongoing, officials said.
A spokesman for Delta airlines told Daily Mail: ‘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.’
