BOSTON (AP) — The man who authorities say hid explosives in his shoes and tried to ignite them during a trans-Atlantic flight has been placed under a suicide watch pending a psychological examination.

Chief Deputy Timothy Bane of the U.S. Marshal's office said the suspect, identified as Richard C. Reid, was under the watch at the Plymouth House of Correction. A bond hearing was scheduled for Friday.

Authorities said they were still trying to determine a motive. The material hidden in his shoes could have caused a "major disaster" had he set it off the American Airlines flight from Paris to Miami, authorities said.

During the flight, Reid allegedly tried to touch a lit match to a fuse protruding from one of his shoes. Flight attendants and passengers restrained him and sedated him with drugs from an airplane medical kit. The jetliner was diverted to Boston with an escort of two fighter jets.

FBI Special Agent Charles Prouty in Boston said the agency was investigating whether Reid had links to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida and hadn't ruled anything out.

The Times of London reported Wednesday that Reid attended the same London mosque as Zacarias Moussaoui, the Frenchman charged with conspiracy in connection with the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The Times also reported that Reid was a British petty criminal who converted to Islam in jail.

Richard C. Reid is the name listed on his British passport. George Fergusson, consul general for the British Consulate in Boston, said Tuesday that the passport appeared to be valid.

A report Tuesday in France's La Provence newspaper, citing police and intelligence sources, said Reid had belonged to an Islamic movement called Tabliq but left because he said it was "not radical enough" for him. French investigators had no information about that report, said a French police official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

If convicted of intimidation or assault of a flight crew, Reid could be sentenced to 20 years in prison.