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Warrant to be issued for pilot; explicit photos taken

An arrest warrant is expected to be issued today for a US Airways pilot who allegedly took explicit photos of a unsuspecting teen waiting with her parents at a terminal inside the Philadelphia International Airport.

An arrest warrant is expected to be issued today for a US Airways pilot who allegedly took explicit photos of a unsuspecting teen waiting with her parents at a terminal inside the Philadelphia International Airport.

The suspect, who is back home in an undisclosed Pennsylvania city that authorities said is not near Philadelphia, is expected to surrender to city police sometime next week.

The 50-something man, whose name is being withheld by police until he is charged with a crime, was caught Thursday night by a sharp-eyed witness who noticed something funny at one of the airport's terminals.

And not "funny" in a ha-ha kind of way.

The woman said she observed a man discreetly taking snapshots of the 15-year-old from beneath her skirt with his cell phone, said police department spokesman Lt. Frank Vanore. The unidentified good samaritan flagged down a city officer patroling the airport to report the alleged deviant, who turned out to be a US Airways pilot, he said. It is unclear which terminal they were in, he said.

The girl and her parents were "unaware" that the "inappropriate photos" were being taken, Vanore said.

The suspect was suspended without pay by the company, according to airline spokesman Morgan Durrant.

Police soon approached the man and the unsuspecting family to apprise all of the situation, police said. The department's Special Victims Unit also came on the scene to interview witnesses including the girl and her family. They also returned to their unidentified city outside of Philadelphia.

A warrant was issued for the photos on the phone, but what they revealed could not be released, Vanore said. The charges the unidentified pilot faces are all misdemeanors.