On November 17, 2009, AirTran flight 297 was scheduled to travel from Atlanta to Houston-Hobby. During taxi a passenger was non-compliant with Crew Members, using a cell phone and taking pictures. The flight taxied back to the gate and the passenger, who did not speak English, and his companion acting as his interpreter were asked to de-plane. They were met by customer service personnel and TSA.
The passengers were allowed to re-board and continued on the flight after speaking with AirTran and TSA representatives. The flight was delayed by more than two hours.
According to Air Tran, it is as simple as that.
One e-mail that resulted, from an individual calling himself Theodore Petruna, who claimed to have been on that flight, made many allegations. The full (and disputed) e-mail is here.
It was later discovered that Mr Petruna was not even on that flight. The original e-mail is debunked here.
However, please note: things were not quite so simple as to dismiss them wholesale — as the air carrier and the MSM would wish.
One gentleman seems to indicate that there were clear complications. The incident is documented here. Excerpts, which appear to carry the most veracity:
(Passenger Brent) Brown runs a security consultant company and is a frequent flier. But even for him, he said the events of Flight 297 were disturbing and frightening. As the Houston-bound flight taxied to the runway, several in a group of about a dozen men of Middle Eastern descent started walking the aisles and using their cell phones, Brown said.
“And then after the fact, when (AirTran) apparently issued a statement that says, in effect, that this was a customer service issue or someone was on the phone…they’re dead wrong,” said Brown.
The crew, including the pilots, decided not to continue with the flight. Brown said AirTran put about 10 of the 12-man group back on the plane with a new crew. Most of the original passengers chose not to re-board and instead got on a different flight.
Wow, you guys will believe anything. I have some nice swamp land I can sell you real cheap, lol!
Bd: start genuflecting towards Mecca, buddy. My guess is that you’re an Atheist. Keep that up. You’ll be the first shot.
BZ
My apologies, Bd: beHEADed.
Sorry. Wrong mode of death.
BZ
PS:
Apprently you didn’t read ALL of this post. Let me know when you learn to READ.
Whether this was a dry run (which I doubt) or a group of middle easterners trying to make some stupid statement about how poorly they are treated over here we will likely never know.
The right thing happened, the chain of events was interrupted, everyone went home.
Thanks god the pilot had the courage to do what he knew to be right and returned to the gate.
The real lesson here is an airplane with the door closed is one of the few places left where the people running the show (the aircrew) have absolute authority. Don’t screw with the crew.
Thanks for the post and the link.
This may well not have been a dry run, but at the least, it was a try for victimhood and a hefty lawsuit against the airline.
I would have been one of the 12 non-Muslim passesngers who got off deplaned. The remaining passengers should be suing for purchasing a ticket and spending the whole trip to Houston terrified (and I don’t advocate for many lawsuits). The first concern should be for passengers who cause no trouble.
Capt Schmoe: yes. THAT is the point!
Maggie: and YES, I would have deplaned myself. Life is sufficently shortby its own-self.
BZ
Interesting use of “civil disobedience” on a large scale with mobility/activity and cell phones to tie-up the attention of crew like that – a tactically sound doctrine for creating overwhelming confusion, including using political correctness inspired by identity-politics.
It show how much we have already given up when we are so easily manipulated.
Just wait for the law-suits to start coming in. I think this was just a try at a pay-day by these idiots.
DirtCrashr & Paul: you both have made EXCELLENT points!
BZ