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Unruly passenger forces emergency landing in Boston
Unruly passenger forces emergency landing in Boston
By Jason Szep 34 minutes ago
BOSTON (Reuters) - A woman panicking from claustrophobia caused a Washington-bound flight from London to make an emergency landing in Boston on Wednesday, sparking a major security alert.
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Police and other officials said there was no apparent terrorist threat, but the incident set off a major security response a week after British authorities said they had foiled a plot to blow up planes from London to the United States.
United Airlines flight 923, carrying 182 passengers and 12 crew, was escorted by fighter jets to Boston after crew members confronted a 59-year-old U.S. woman who became unruly due to an apparent panic attack, officials said.
Nenette Day, a spokeswoman with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Boston, said the woman became disruptive on the flight and had to be forcibly restrained. She was arrested after the plane landed. Disrupting an international flight is a crime, said Day.
The woman was carrying hand cream and matches but was not a terrorist threat, said Christopher White, a Transportation Security Administration spokesman. Those items are not banned on commercial flights, he said.
"There are no known links to terrorism regarding this event at this time," said White.
One media report carried on CNN and major TV networks, and later denied, said the woman had Vaseline, a screwdriver, matches and a note on the Islamic militant group al Qaeda.
The
FBI's Day said a search of her belongings produced no dangerous materials and no note from al Qaeda.
"Her carry-on bags subsequently were searched and matches were found in the bag as well as a gelatin-like substance but those items were not deemed to have any terrorist connection or pose a threat to the aircraft," Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney told a news conference.
Air passengers have faced heightened security since last week, when British police arrested nearly two dozen suspects in the alleged plot to carry out multiple suicide bombings on transatlantic airliners using liquid explosives.
Television broadcasts showed Boston airport rescue workers surrounding the plane while dogs sniffed for explosives in luggage laid out in lines on the ground. At least half a dozen police vans and cars were on the tarmac.
"This isn't just an 'I want another drink kind of thing,' it was a disruption that caused them to divert the plane," Day said. "We have to assess whether this is a mentally ill person or a physically sick person."
Romney said the woman was from Vermont and put her age at 59. Officials had earlier put her age at 60.
(Additional reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss and Scott Malone in Boston, Deborah Charles in Washington and Kyle Peterson in Chicago)
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__________________
In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." --Voltaire
Certainly Not the News should have their licensed suspended.
I just got back from dropping my girlfriend off at the Ft. Lauderdale airport, where she begins her 2 week trip to Ireland.
CNN is all over the Cable News screaming about Arab woman threatening to blow up plane with vaseline and a screwdriver in her possession. This is so effed up. Chicken Little and the sky is falling.
At least my GF has the spunk to say screw it all. They aren't going to ruin her vacation. Pity the poor wannabe terrorist who crosses her path. She ain't big, but she is spunky. She'll just F bomb them to death.
__________________
In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." --Voltaire
Last edited by wallyburger; August 16th, 2006 at 01:19 PM.
Until the note was mentioned, it started to sound like she was a loan shark looking to get payment.
"Cuz Vinny always has a rusty screwdriver and some Vaseline handy"
It is horrible that CNN or any news station for that matter would speculate so much. But fear sells and boosts ratings.
Exactly. What the Hell happened to the note?
P.S. The guy who enhanced the smoke in the Qana pix was terminated, so what should the fate of these a holes be? Put a whole damned world in cardiac arrest and " oh, never mind ".
__________________
In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." --Voltaire
P.S. The guy who enhanced the smoke in the Qana pix was terminated, so what should the fate of these a holes be? Put a whole damned world in cardiac arrest and " oh, never mind ".
You know just as well as I do that nothing will happen to them for causing such panic. It's too profitable to keep this going on as long as they can. People are gonna fly regardless, the news will keep spreading lies, and I can't bring toe nail clippers on the plane because someone might go on a manicuring rampage. My favorite safety measure is that you can't bring a lighter on the plane, but you can have all the matches you want. WOW, it makes my head hurt thinking about this stuff.
__________________ "Doctor says I wouldn't have so many noise bleeds if I kept my finger outta there" - Ralph Wiggum
Oh yeah. Thanks for the link, I need to be refreshed on the case. I remember telling Krang that the whole situation could've been handled differently. Wasn't the gov. talking about giving Air Marshals tazers? I had one of the same models police carry with the prongs that shoot out. Let me tell you, the sound of the electricity going through that thing was enough to scare your sanity back. In the case of this article, I do understand why the Marshals used force due to him saying he had a bomb. But they could have tazed the mess out of him instead of shooting him dead.
__________________ "Doctor says I wouldn't have so many noise bleeds if I kept my finger outta there" - Ralph Wiggum
Another unfounded terror scare
By Staff and Wire Reports
Aug 17, 2006, 05:35
Two fighter jets were scrambled Wednesday to escort a London-to-Washington flight to an emergency landing in Boston after a passenger became so agitated she needed to be restrained, authorities said. But the suspected terror threat turned out to be nothing more than unruly passenger -- the second time in a week that the U.S. government scrambled its resources for a threat that wasn't.
The federal official for Boston's Logan International Airport said there was no indication of terrorism and denied reports that the passenger aboard United Flight 923 had a screw driver and a note referring to al-Qaida. The scare turned out to be the second time in less than a week that a so-called terror threat turned out to be nothing. A high-profile arrest of Texas men for buying cell phones in a purported plot to blow up a bridge in Michigan turned out to be unfounded.
Gov. Mitt Romney said the 59-year-old woman was from Vermont and became so claustrophobic and upset that she needed to be restrained. The FBI in Boston said the woman, a U.S. citizen, was detained for allegedly interfering with a flight crew and was being questioned.
The disturbance — coming just a week after authorities in London said they foiled a terror plot to blow up flights to the U.S. — was enough of a concern that the pilot declared an emergency, which activated two fighter jets to escort the plane into Logan, said George Naccara, security director for the Transportation Security Administration for Massachusetts' airports.
Two F-15s were sent from Otis Air National Guard Base on Cape Cod to escort the airliner, said Master Sgt. Anthony Hill, spokesman for the North American Aerospace Defense Command in Colorado Springs, Colo. He said the fighter pilots can intercept, shadow or escort commercial aircraft and, if ordered, shoot down an aircraft deemed to be a threat.
State police and federal agencies took control of the plane after it landed.
Passengers were taken off the plane, put on a bus and taken to a terminal to be interviewed, Naccara said. Their luggage was spread out on the tarmac, where it was rechecked by security officials and trained dogs. Officials expected the passengers would be allowed onto another flight to Washington later Wednesday.
Romney said a search of the woman's bag turned up matches and a gelatin-like substance, which he did not define, but there was no indication the items were related to terrorism. Naccara said he did not believe any items she was carrying were the cause of the emergency.
An airport spokesman, Phil Orlandella, previously confirmed broadcast reports that the woman was carrying Vaseline, a screw driver, matches and a note referring to al-Qaida, but later backed off the statement. Naccara said it was not true.
"I don't know what she had on board with her, but we have been told she did not have a screw driver, she did not have any liquids such as Vaseline, and any notebook she may have had, it did not contain an al-Qaida reference," Naccara said. He said he had no information about matches.
The flight from London's Heathrow Airport to Washington's Dulles Airport had 182 passengers and 12 crew members, said Brandon Borrman, spokesman for United Airlines parent UAL Corp.
Since the foiled terror plot surfaced in London last week, airports have tightened security in both the United Kingdom and the U.S. Liquids and gels have been banned from carry-on luggage, and even tighter restrictions are in place in the U.K.
Terror scares garner particular attention in Boston because of Logan's history. Members of al-Qaida hijacked two planes from Logan on Sept. 11, 2001, and flew them into the World Trade Center towers in New York.
__________________
In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." --Voltaire
The women peed in the cabin. If that was brought up on the news instead of the fact that she had a note and a screwdriver, I think most people would've just thought there was a "crazy" on the plane.
Quote:
Attorney says woman arrested in flight disturbance 'barely lucid'
Melissa Trujillo
Associated Press
Aug. 17, 2006 03:05 PM
BOSTON - A woman on a trans-Atlantic flight diverted to Boston for security concerns passed several notes to crew members, urinated on the cabin floor and made comments the crew believed were references to al-Qaida and the Sept. 11 attacks, according to an affidavit filed Thursday.
Catherine C. Mayo, 59, of Braintree, Vt., appeared in federal court Thursday on a charge of interfering with a flight crew on United 923 as it flew from London to Washington, D.C., Wednesday.
She was dressed in a Rolling Stones T-shirt, black pants and socks without shoes for the hearing and was ordered held pending a detention and probable cause hearing next Thursday.
Her attorney, federal public defender Page Kelley, said Mayo was “just barely” lucid when they spoke. “She’s got some very serious mental health problems.”
U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan said he hoped to learn more about Mayo's mental state before the next court appearance. "We believe it's important during that time period to have a doctor examine her," he said.
Mayo's son, Josh, 31, described his mother as a peace activist and said she had been in Pakistan since March. She traveled there often since making a pen pal prior to Sept. 11, 2001, he said. The pen pal hasn't been allowed to visit the U.S., he added.
"I guess she just had a bit of a bad time on the plane, and everybody's a little paranoid," the son said.
The scare aboard United 923 came just a week after London authorities said they foiled a terror plot to blow up trans-Atlantic flights. As many as 17 people have been arrested in Pakistan in connection with the London terror plot, but federal officials have said they have no indications that Mayo had any links to terrorism.
The count against Mayo carries a maximum 20-year prison sentence and a $250,000 fine.
Mayo's passport indicates she left Pakistan and entered the United Kingdom on Tuesday, according to the affidavit by FBI Special Agent Daniel Choldin filed in U.S. District Court in Boston.
In the affidavit, Choldin says flight attendants noticed Mayo about 90 minutes into the flight because she was pushing against the aircraft bulkhead. When the attendant told her to return to her seat, Mayo said she wanted to speak to an air marshal and made statements about knowing that people wanted to see what was in her bag.
FBI spokeswoman Gail Marcinkiewicz confirmed Thursday that authorities found a screwdriver and an unspecified number of cigarette lighters in her bag, items that are banned under new security regulations. Marcinkiewicz also confirmed that matches were found in Mayo’s bag.
She also had a bottle of water, which did not appear to be supplied by the flight crew. It wasn’t clear how the items made it through airport security, which has been significantly tightened since the terror plot arrests.
Later during the flight, according to the affidavit, Mayo asked a flight attendant: "Is this a training flight for United Flight 93?" The flight attendant didn't know if she made a mistake because the flight was actually Flight 923, or if she was referring to Flight 93, the hijacked plane that crashed in Pennsylvania on Sept. 11.
She was "biting her fingers, rubbing her feet and in a constant state of movement. She appeared very agitated," the affidavit said.
She also wrote in a note and said to flight attendants that she had been in a country illegally, and later said she had photographs of Pakistan.
"She stated that the photographs would be awful, and she indicated that they related to the people that she had been with in the mountains of Pakistan," the affidavit said.
Flight attendants summoned the captain, who spoke to Mayo. During the conversation, she made reference to there being "six steps to building some unspecified thing."
"She made reference to being with people associated with two words. She stated that she could not say what the two words were because the last time that she had said the two words she had been kicked off of a flight in the United Arab Emirates," according to the affidavit.
The captain and purser both believed that she was referring to al-Qaida, Choldin wrote.
About 35 minutes later, when she tried to go to the bathroom, the flight attendants directed her to a different lavatory. Instead, she pulled down her pants and urinated on the floor, Choldin wrote in the affidavit, which was based on his interviews and those of other federal officials.
At that point, the captain ordered her restrained. Two male passengers helped a flight attendant tackle Mayo and restrain her in plastic cuffs.
The flight, with 182 passengers, landed safely at Logan Airport with the escort of two F-15 fighter jets.
__________________ "Doctor says I wouldn't have so many noise bleeds if I kept my finger outta there" - Ralph Wiggum
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