ABUJA (Reuters) - A man rammed his car into a parked airliner in Nigeria's southeastern city of Calabar on Wednesday, an aviation spokesman said.

There was no indication of the man's motives or whether police intended to charge him, but the spokesman insisted on Thursday that Nigeria had no problem with flight security.

The United States put Nigeria on a list of countries needing tighter security after Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was arrested on suspicion of trying to blow up a U.S.-bound airliner in December using explosives hidden in his underwear.

"There is no problem at all at our airports, no cause for alarm, as we have the necessary security on the ground," said Akin Olukunle, spokesman for the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria.

He said the driver had broken through two security gates at Calabar's international airport and rammed his car into the Arik Air plane before military security arrested him.

The crew of the plane, which had arrived from Lagos and was on its way to the capital Abuja, were not injured and no passengers were on board at the time.

"Our men rushed to the scene and evacuated crew members on board," Olukunle said. "We have beefed up security."

A bomb squad found no explosives in the car, which was still at the airport on Thursday. Flights continued despite the incident.

A photograph in the Nigerian newspaper NEXT showed a blue automobile stuck underneath the middle of the plane. Authorities were questioning the driver in Calabar.

Africa's most populous country has started installing body scanners at its international airports, an aviation official said on Tuesday.