If a person is on a "No Fly" list, how does he/she get on board?

Found this report out of Boston. If a person is really on some kind of "no fly" list sponsored by the Office of Homeland Security, how is it that they are able to purchase a ticket and get on board an airplane in the first place? Perhaps it should be a "not allowed to purchase a plane ticket list," instead.


Incidentially, would you like to live in Bangor Maine knowing that diverted terror suspects are being shuttled direct to your airport?

It's a brief article, so here it is:

A Boston-bound Alitalia plane that took off from Milan, Italy, is being diverted to Bangor, Maine.

A passenger on Flight 618 may be on a U.S. no-fly list, officials said. The man's name and birth date match a name on the list. The plane is due to land at about 12:45 p.m. in Maine, but it was supposed to arrive at Logan International Airport at 1:10 p.m.

Canadian and American jets are escorting the plan to Maine, where it will be met by by federal law enforcement officials when it lands. The flight is carrying a 127 passengers, and 10 crew members are onboard the Boeing 767.

This is the second time in one week that an international flight has been diverted to Maine. Last week, a Boston-bound Air France jet was diverted after one of the passengers was found to have the same name as a person listed on the no-fly list.