Friday, December 11, 2009

Hmmm . . . Yet Another Dry Run?: United 227 Sounds Just Like AirTran 297

RRA comments:

Why "dry runs" on the ground prior to takeoff, involving behavior pretty much guaranteed to get them thrown off the plane or at least frisked and delayed because it violates basic rules regarding takeoff?

James Woods witnessed a very subtle "dry run" by several of the hijackers about a month prior to 9/11. Annie Jacobsen witnessed what looked like either a dry run or actual attempt at mixing a bomb in flight. Woods' information was not acted upon, and Jacobsen got about the same treatment as the AirTran passengers.

Now we have two incidents of disruptive behavior prior to takeoff occurring within about a month of each other. So far neither provocation has resulted in a lawsuit. Why bother engaging in this behavior while still on the runway? Are these men testing the limits, trying to flush out the air marshals, just being arrogant Islamic jerks, or what?

From Debbie Schlussel

For those doubters who mocked me and chose to believe a lying AirTran over passenger Tedd J. Petruna regarding what happened on AirTran Flight 297 on November 17th, you might wanna start mocking the passengers of Wednesday’s United 227, too. Oh, and maybe you might wanna start calling former NFL coach Mike Shanahan a nut, too. He was on the flight.




It’s yet another flight grounded because Middle Eastern men tried to create havoc, test the system, and likely do a dry run. It’s almost an identical scenario with flight attendants scared out of their minds, etc.

But, hey, nothing to see here, move along. You know the drill: we’re just “bigots”. Uh-huh. So what happened on this flight? Why was a bomb-sniffing K9 brought in? And why were several “Middle-Eastern” men escorted off? Huh?

It’s not entirely clear why some passengers were removed from a plane at Denver International Airport on Wednesday. United Airlines issued a statement suggesting that the passengers were “re-accommodated” onto another flight.

A spokesperson for the Denver Police Department confirms to 9NEWS that Denver Police officers were called to DIA on Wednesday, but declined to elaborate any further.

Flight 227 left DIA bound for Los Angeles nearly three hours late. It was scheduled to depart at 1:50 p.m., but ended up leaving at 4:32 p.m.

“Our crew followed recognized, industry standard procedures and re-accommodated some passengers on another flight. We are investigating this matter,” read a Thursday morning statement from United. A United spokesperson declined to elaborate any further as well.

The United crew apparently noticed certain patterns they are trained to spot. Sources tell NBC News airline employees are trained to look for certain behaviors such as how a ticket is paid for, how often passengers get up to use the restroom, and even who their traveling companions are.

A spokesperson for the FBI, Kathy Wright, confirmed to 9NEWS that federal investigators were originally called to the scene after receiving a call on a “possible suspicious incident.” Wright said eventually “we determined that it was not an FBI matter.”

Passengers say a bomb-sniffing dog was brought onto the plane and passengers in the first-class cabin we’re asked to go back to coach for a brief amount of time according to passengers on the plane.

John Sloan of Oxnard, California, was on board the flight on Wednesday.

“I have never seen flight attendants so scared in my life. Everything turned out OK, but it was not a very good feeling. It would have been nice to have been updated though this process,” he told 9NEWS by phone.

Sloan says seven men were escorted off of the plane. Two of them were sitting in coach. The other five were sitting in first-class, he says. All were re-booked onto another flight according to United.

Sloan says the men were attempting to change seats with other passengers. Another passenger, who doesn’t want his name used, says the men were also trying to move luggage while the plane was getting ready to push back.

Passengers tell 9NEWS all of the men looked to be “Middle Eastern,” but United will not confirm the identity of the seven men.

Nothing criminal was found, and the flight was allowed to continue on to California.

Passengers also tell 9NEWS that former head coach of the Denver Broncos, Mike Shanahan, was seated in first class while this was all going on. Shanahan could not be reached for comment, and a spokesperson for the former coach simply told 9NEWS that he was “out of town.”

But, hey, I and the passengers and the flight attendants and the K9 are all just nuts, right? There’s nothing to fear here. Tell me that the next time you’re on a flight with several Middle Eastern men who are escorted off with a bomb-sniffing animal brought in.

If there was nothing going on here, United wouldn’t still be “investigating.” So, how long until United starts attacking its passengers the way AirTran did? Perhaps United–which had two planes hijacked on 9/11–gets it.

11 comments:

revereridesagain said...

"Incredibly strange" could sum up this whole situation. Why "dry runs" on the ground prior to takeoff, involving behavior pretty much guaranteed to get them thrown off the plane or at least frisked and delayed because it violates basic rules regarding takeoff?

James Woods witnessed a very subtle "dry run" by several of the hijackers about a month prior to 9/11. Annie Jacobsen witnessed what looked like either a dry run or actual attempt at mixing a bomb in flight. Woods' information was not acted upon, and Jacobsen got about the same treatment as the AirTran passengers.

Now we have two incidents of disruptive behavior prior to takeoff occurring within about a month of each other. So far neither provocation has resulted in a lawsuit. Why bother engaging in this behavior while still on the runway? Are these men testing the limits, trying to flush out the air marshals, just being arrogant Islamic jerks, or what?

Always On Watch said...

From the video:

"There was nothing criminal taking place."

I say: Yet.

RRA,
Good comment and points well taken.

Anonymous said...

So far, no arrests . . .so this could all be just jihad yuks and giggles at everyone else's emotional expense. The dozen involved with the Air tran flight were witnessed calling each other on their cell phones and talking loudly in Arabic. Clearly attracting the nervous attention of several, if not all of the other passengers. After being removed from the flight for questioning and subsequently being cleared to resume the flight, ten of these middle eastern Arabs re-boarded flight 297. Dr. Robinson witnessed their reboarding with smug smirks on their faces. I suspect these individuals really enjoyed the rise they got out of the passengers and the castrated authorities since no charges were levied against them. There is no deterrent to this abusive jihad by intimidation. The six imams case resulted in the airline settling out of court for an undisclosed amount - clearly sending the message to all other airlines to be less discriminate of this intimidating behavior.

Perhaps it will take a more direct approach by the passengers on the next flight. I suspect if this unaddressed behavior becomes routine, someday soon - even a plane full of passengers will not provide a single witness to corroborate any incident that takes place to neutralize jihad intimidator(s).

Anonymous said...

P.S. google "Ken Rex McElroy" to see how a fed up community dealt with continuously unaddressed intimidation.

Anonymous said...

I am cabin crew. And I fly with passengers of "Middle Eastern" descent all the time. Many of them know how to act and when to sit down during a flight but some of them need to be told to sit down during taxiing--they listen to us, they have to.

Why would these people run around and disrupt the flight?

Well, it could be many reasons:

1) They just want attention.
2) They are sent by CAIR or other Muslim organizations to rack up lawsuits.
3) (And I think points onward here are more likely) They want to see how long it will take for the cabin crew to react if they were actually carrying out a hijacking--because remember, they can practice in their caves all they want but they won't know how vigilant the crew are on different airliners.
4) As the RRA mentioned it too, they are trying to sniff out the air-marshals.
5) They are trying to see if they can "put together" a bomb without much notice.
6) Apart from seeing how vigilant the crew are, they might also want to see how effective they are when on their own. Whatever the crew do to stop the Middle Eastern (I won't stop saying that because that's who they are) men while on the ground before the "authorities" intervene is all they are going to be capable of in the air also.

Whatever it is, I'd be very very cautious and very very suspicious of all of this. To me, I'd rather take it as a threat than "Oh no rules were broken".

Airlines need to stop worrying about lawsuits and start worrying about safety!

Always On Watch said...

Wiki on McElroy, who was brought to fatal justice by citizens of the town:

In 1984 Richard McFadin filed a $5 million wrongful death civil lawsuit on behalf of Trena McElroy against Sheriff Estes, the Skidmore mayor and Del Clement (who had been accused by Trena as the killer). The lawsuit was dropped, however an out of court settlement was reached. The defendants settled out of court for $17,600, with the county paying $12,600, Skidmore $2,000 and Clement $3,000. No one admitted guilt. They said the settlement was made to avoid costly legal fees should the suit go forward.

In the fall of 1982 the farmhouse on Valley Road where Ken McElroy lived burned down.

Anonymous said...

AOW - small price to pay to rid the county of this menace. The county picked up the bulk of that tab - with much relief, no doubt.

I would pay double airfare for zero tolerance guarantees.

cjk said...

If these 'best of men' shitheads ever try any shit on a flight I'm on, I hear by swear that I will get up and begin to tell eveyone on the flight that their profit mo' was a murderous, thieving, POS pedophile, and I'll make sure they can hear me insulting the dead skank.

Pastorius said...

I like your strategy CJK.

Anonymous said...

Wow. I knew none of this re: Air Tran or United before today. Yesterday, I boarded an Alaska Flight at LAX. It was LAX to PDX. When I got on, I particulary noticed it was not a normal "portland" crowd: many multi national young men. I have flown to and from Portland all of my life and know the typical people on these flights.
We sat down and the plane was getting ready for closing the doors and one of the men changed seats quickly. I noticed the middle eastern man across from me had his Koran out and was reading and praying. I went instant alarm and suddenly the plane had a delay due to mechanical problem. I had a HORRIBLE feeling and told my husband I wanted to get off the plane. Note: every single person was on board and ready to go. It is something I have never considered doing before. He must have sensed my panic and said okay and off we went. I boarded a later flight to PDX and the typical Portland crowd was on. I pointed this out to my husband and he agreed.
Okay. Nothing happened. And, it is not against the law to read a Koran on the plane. However, I have never felt that feeling on a plane before and did not feel it at all on the later flight.
I also noticed intense security on the later flight that day: asking for ID at the boarding area which is not typical anymore. The TSA doing the ID checks and checking with small device to see authenticity..checking ID's of some for many minutes. Haven't seen anything like that for many years now..
I wonder..

Pastorius said...

I've seen that kind of thing too. It can be nerve-racking.

And, of course, I've read my Bible on flights, so what can we say about the Koran?