| Submit your comments on this article |
| Home Front: WoT |
| Plane evacuated after passenger boards, then leaves |
| 2004-08-15 |
| A Chicago-bound flight from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport was evacuated Saturday after suspicious behavior by a passenger, officials said Sunday. Passengers were boarding United Airlines Flight 627 before 6 p.m. when a Middle Eastern man abruptly got off the plane, airport and Transportation Security Administration officials said. The Airbus 8320 and the airport concourse were evacuated and all passengers were rescreened, said Amy Von Walter, a TSA spokeswoman. The passenger was found, but couldn't be questioned immediately because he didn't speak English, Von Walter said. He was turned over to the FBI, who questioned and released him after 10 p.m., said Debbie Weierman, Washington field office spokeswoman. Weierman said the man had decided to change his flight plans for personal reasons. The plane, carrying 74 passengers, took off more than two hours late and landed safely in Chicago, an airline spokesman said. |
| Posted by:TS(vice girl) |
| #14 "Eight" sounds so much like "A"...yeah, let's go with it. |
| Posted by: Rafael 2004-08-16 1:48:48 AM |
| #13 Not to get too pedantic but shouldn't Airbus 8320 be Airbus A320? But, hey, who needs to fact-check when you're a reporter? |
| Posted by: Xbalanke 2004-08-15 11:12:47 PM |
| #12 Paranoia |
| Posted by: Rafael 2004-08-15 7:13:55 PM |
| #11 Just give him a schedule for the hound and tell him that he needs to plan for three or four days worth of travel for a cross country trip. If he needs to fly to Europe, he can fly out of Toronto, where they put up with that type of crap. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-08-15 4:56:26 PM |
| #10 Simple solution: Whenever any person pulls this sort of stunt, from that point on, ensure that they board all future flights LAST. A |
| Posted by: Zenster 2004-08-15 3:39:32 PM |
| #9 eLarson - I'm probably unusual, but I don't go places I have to fly to in order to shop. I like educational vacations. I rarely buy things on vacation (other than food, of course), though I'm not against buying something unusual if I like it, can use it, can get it home or ship it home easily or inexpesively, think I can't get it at home, and can afford it. Yeah, I know, I'm no fun at all. But I don't come home from vacations up to my ass in debt. Anymore. ;-) |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2004-08-15 3:32:51 PM |
| #8 Barb - But what about "go as you are and shop when you get there?" (Easy for me to say: I can just leave stuff with my fiancee!) |
| Posted by: eLarson 2004-08-15 3:01:55 PM |
| #7 TGA - so do I. But the FBI has gotten so PC'd it's hard to be sure. Maybe he just had a carry-on. I've known men who get on a plane with just a carry-on; as a woman, I can't imagine such a thing. :-p |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2004-08-15 2:50:36 PM |
| #6 Now this really looks like a "dry run" to me. That was sarcasm, right??? |
| Posted by: Rafael 2004-08-15 2:44:49 PM |
| #5 627, eh? I happened to be on that flight about a month ago and was planning to book myself on it for my next return trip. Wonderful. |
| Posted by: eLarson 2004-08-15 2:36:27 PM |
| #4 Barbara, maybe... what about his baggage? Did he notify the crew that he was leaving? I hope he got a good background check. |
| Posted by: True German Ally 2004-08-15 2:35:57 PM |
| #3 Unfortunately, TGA, getting back off a plane before it finishes boarding isn't enough to arrest him. Maybe he was just stupid, or really didn't understand English, or both. Or maybe they let him go to watch him. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2004-08-15 2:30:29 PM |
| #2 Now this really looks like a "dry run" to me. They released him??? |
| Posted by: True German Ally 2004-08-15 2:19:43 PM |
#1 the man had decided to change his flight plans for personal reasonsIn other words, he couldn't find the bomb belt and/or gun hidden in the restroom where he thought it would be. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2004-08-15 2:14:20 PM |