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| Britain |
| Humiliation at 33,000 feet: Top British architect tells of terror 'arrest' |
| 2006-10-01 |
| To the applause of fellow passengers, the Jewish designer was escorted from a New York flight as a potential bomber. Because, he tells Sophie Goodchild, of his holiday tan Seth Stein is used to jetting around the world to create stylish holiday homes for wealthy clients. This means the hip architect is familiar with the irritations of heightened airline security post-9/11. But not even he could have imagined being mistaken for an Islamist terrorist and physically pinned to his seat while aboard an American Airlines flight - especially as he has Jewish origins. Yet this is what happened when he travelled back from a business trip to the Turks and Caicos islands via New York on 22 May. Still traumatised by his ordeal, the 47-year-old is furious that the airline failed to protect him from the gung-ho actions of an over-zealous passenger who claimed to be a police officer. He has now instructed a team of top US lawyers to act for him. The London-based interiors guru, whose clients have included Peter Mandelson and the husband-and-wife design team Suzanne Clements and Ignacio Ribeiro, said he felt compelled to speak out to protect other innocent travellers from a similar experience. "This man could have garrotted me and what was awful was that one or two of the passengers went up afterwards to thank him," said Mr Stein. He has since been told by airline staff he was targeted because he was using an iPod, had used the toilet when he got on the plane and that his tan made him appear "Arab". "I was terrified but am fortunate in that I was able to contact a lawyer. Yet someone else who is not assertive could be left completely traumatised." The incident highlights the increased likelihood of innocent passengers being picked on because they are perceived as "suspicious" or "foreign-looking", especially following the alleged plot to blow up airliners with liquid explosives. Earlier this month, a plane from London to Washington DC made an emergency landing, escorted by fighters, after passengers alerted crew to the behaviour of a female traveller. It later emerged she had suffered a panic attack. And in August, two innocent Asian students were escorted off a flight from Malaga to Manchester because other passengers thought they were terrorists. In Mr Stein's case, he was pounced on as the crew and other travellers looked on. The drama unfolded less than an hour into the flight. As he settled down with a book and a ginger ale, the father-of-three was grabbed from behind and held in a head-lock. "This guy just told me his name was Michael Wilk, that he was with the New York Police Department, that I'd been acting suspiciously and should stay calm. I could barely find my voice and couldn't believe it was happening," said Mr Stein. "He went into my pocket and took out my passport and my iPod. All the other passengers were looking concerned." Eventually, cabin crew explained that the captain had run a security check on Mr Stein after being alerted by the policeman and that this had cleared him. The passenger had been asked to go back to his seat before he had restrained Mr Stein. When the plane arrived in New York, Mr Stein was met by apologetic police officers who offered to fast-track him out of the airport. Mr Stein said: "The other passengers looked and me and said, 'What did you do?' It was so humiliating. The fact is he [the police officer] was told I was OK and should have left me alone. The airline had a duty of care. I've got to travel to the US soon, but I'm paying an extra £500 to travel in business class." American Airlines apologised to Mr Stein, who was born in New York, but withdrew an initial offer of $2,000 compensation on the grounds it would be an admission of liability. In a letter dated 30 May, the airline said it had done everything possible to try and protect Mr Stein. It read: "Unfortunately, as in any public gathering, there may be occasions when a conflict arises between people or when one individual's actions bother another... As our crew members may not always be witness to the inappropriate acts of a particular passenger, there may be a limit to what our crews can do to improve behaviour that is perceived as a nuisance." In a twist to the story, Mr Stein has since discovered that there is only one Michael Wilk on the NYPD's official register of officers, but the man retired 25 years ago. Officials have told the architect that his assailant may work for another law enforcement agency but have refused to say which one. |
| Posted by:john |
| #16 The terrific delay in the publication of this story is the biggest factor causing suspicion. Normally this would be news on the first few pages of a major newspaper, the same or the next day it happened. Very fishy. |
| Posted by: Slaviger Angomong7708 2006-10-01 23:57 |
| #15 My Israeli (amongst other nationalities -- a long story) father always said the Jewish appearance stereotype is really Italian or Arab. The tale proves it, although as told it sounds like the other gentleman both overreacted and lied about his profession to cow our hero into not fighting. Were Mr. Stein a real terrorist, that wouldn't be a bad tactic. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-10-01 23:47 |
| #14 While I certainly agree that this doesn't sound like the entire story, some four months late and all that, the airline still had a legal obligation to gather all information related to this incident. Failure to do so makes them culpable because their inaction unfairly limited the victim's avenues of proper legal recourse thereby nominating themselves as the liable party. Consider the case of a property owner who witnesses a hired subcontractor injure a passerby while performing requested work on the premises. If that property owner fails to gather the appropriate information and permits the subcontractor to leave without having gathered that pertinent data, guess who stands liable in court? The airline is the property owner, the "police officer" is the sub-contractor (passenger) and the passerby is this other passenger. I see zero fallback or mitigating circumstances for the airline to cite. All that matters is that the victim is in no way filing a false claim. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2006-10-01 22:38 |
| #13 There is something missing in this story. Also I don't know that an AA stewardess could prevent me from garrotting a fellow passenger. I think we will eventually see a change in the appearance of stewardesses as their job becomes more akin to NHL linesmen. I would be OK with arming them with tasers - more people would certainly listen to their safety briefing. I don't care whether AA gets sued over this one - they really didn't do anthing outstandinglu positive or negative during the incident, but anytime stories emerge that make America look like a hard target we win. I want there to be significant element of uncertainty about the success of an any terrorist attack planned on America. If the odds are better for an attack of a country that doesn't have a cowboy legacy, we are safer. Afterall we don't have to be faster than the bear. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2006-10-01 21:52 |
| #12 If he had been the Bottom British Architect... |
| Posted by: .com 2006-10-01 19:52 |
| #11 SW - we have,what, one side here? Just kicking bvack, reading a book and ginger ale, the "father of three" was assaulted by a fictitious cop. Spare me |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-10-01 19:48 |
| #10 Ack! If he grabs an attendant... If he goes to the john to soon after takeoff and there's wires coming outta his pantslegs trailing along behind him... If he tries to smoke his shoe... If he cuts someone's throat... If he charges the cockpit... If he hollers Allan's Snackbar! Sheesharoonies, so many rules. My brain hurts. /vinnybarbarino P.S. Duh, Wilk... If you do the chokehold right, you don't hafta worry about twerps testifying against you. /LAPD |
| Posted by: .com 2006-10-01 19:46 |
| #9 Nope, I'm with Mr. Stein on this one. The police officer had a duty to follow the rules of engagement, as it were. It's not his job to jump on someone just because they look a little suspicious. Hell, there's one person on every large plane that might look 'suspicious' to someone else. Someone starts to act crazy? Put a match to a shoe? Grab a flight attendant? No problem, beat his head in, and I'll help hold the SOB. But I have iPod earphones in my ears the whole time I'm on a plane, and I sure hope that doesn't make me 'suspicious'. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2006-10-01 19:37 |
| #8 "furious that the airline failed to protect him from the gung-ho actions of an over-zealous passenger" It seems to me that Mr. Stein's beef is with Michael Wilk. He should have insisted that NYPD press charges for assault. In fact, it's not too late. I'm with Frank: four months later and all the name dropping smells like a publicity whore. |
| Posted by: Darrell 2006-10-01 17:49 |
| #7 For security reasons alone, the plane's crew (and therefore the airline) had a significant duty to record all information surrounding this incident, including the supposed "police officer's" identity and the names of any witnesses. Such information is needed by the TSA to assess valid incidents and should be also made available to any passenger who is unfairly assaulted. By not gathering such data, American Airlines has left themselves wide open for a major lawsuit. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2006-10-01 17:21 |
| #6 may 22nd? Publicity whore. We have his side - let's hear the other |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-10-01 17:20 |
| #5 C'mon Frank. How would you like to be placed in a head lock while kicking back in your seat? I'm just as much against the 'victimhood' mentality and the litigious nature of our society as the next guy, but right is right, and wrong is wrong. |
| Posted by: mcsegeek1 2006-10-01 17:12 |
| #4 "I was violated!" "hey are you getting this all down?" "make sure you spell my name correctly...and get my website addy. You have the name and phone of my PR agent, don't you?" |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-10-01 17:07 |
| #3 I fly AA almost exclusively. I find it inconceivable that the crew could not have stopped this. As a standard practice, police officers should ID themselves to the crew members as dicretely as possible, and should only take actions when there is a clear threat or when directed by the crew. Every AA crew member knows this. Air Marshalls have authority to act autonomously but police officers do not. Sue the airline. They failed to protect the passenger by immediately demanding that the 'police officer' go back to his seat, and having the officer arrested upon landing. |
| Posted by: mcsegeek1 2006-10-01 16:55 |
| #2 Was there a gremlin on the wing? |
| Posted by: anonymous5089 2006-10-01 16:40 |
| #1 I smell fish. |
| Posted by: Parabellum 2006-10-01 16:05 |