Rehearsal for Another 9/11?

[Warrior-Mentor]

SOURCE:
http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/a...e-misunde.html

So, was this a language misunderstanding or terrorist dry run?

10:13 AM Wed, Dec 02, 2009
Terry Maxon/Reporter

A reader called me, then sent me an email Wednesday morning about an incident that occurred Nov. 17 on an AirTran Airways flight 297.

According to an Atlanta Journal Constitution story, the flight was delayed two and a half hours after a confrontation between some passengers and the flight crew.

The AJC story quoted a passenger sitting toward the back of the airplane who recounted what she saw. That passenger thought it was just a problem with miscommunication.

But there's an email circulating, apparently going viral, from a Texan on the flight, who describes what appeared to him to be a practice run by a bunch of 11 terrorists:

* A guy in the front section talking by phone to a guy in the back, and both refusing to shut off their phones.

* Two in the back watching a porno on a camcorder.

* All 11 got up together to walk in the aisle.

According to the story and/or the emailer, Transportation Security Administration officials and police officers boarded the airplane. A group of 13 people were taken off. After a time, 11 reboarded the airplane, and the newspaper said . Then the pilots and flight attendants walked off the airplane and were replaced with a new crew. Some passengers, including the emailer, decided to take a later flight.

Very curious.

We've had a number of other instances when alarmed passengers witnessed what they thought were terrorist dry runs, followed by airline apologies and accusations of religious or ethnic insensitivity.

Read the AJC by clicking on that link in the first paragraph, then read the email below.

One week ago, I went to Ohio on business and to see my father. On Tuesday, November 17, I returned home. If you read the papers, you may have seen a blurb where an AirTran flight was cancelled from Atlanta to Houston due to a man who refused to get off of his cell phone before takeoff. It was on Fox.

That was NOT what happened!

I was in first class coming home. Eleven muslim men got on the plane in full attire. Two sat in first class and the rest peppered themselves throughout the plane all the way to the back. As the plane taxied to the runway, the stewardesses gave the safety spiel we are all so familiar with. At that time, one of the men got on his cell and called one of his companions in the back and proceeded to talk on the phone in Arabic very loudly and very aggressively. This took the first stewardess out of the picture for she repeatedly told the man that cell phones were not permitted at the time. He ignored her as if she wasn't there.

The second man who answered the phone did the same and this took out the second stewardess. In the back of the plane at this time, 2 younger muslims, one in the back aisle, and one in front of him, window, began to show footage of a porno they had taped the night before, and were very loud about it. Now, they are only permitted to do this prior to Jihad. If a Muslim man goes into a strip club, he has to view the woman via mirror with his back to her (don't ask me, I don't make the rules, but I've studied). The third stewardess informed them that they were not to have electronic devices on at this time. To which one of the men said, "Shut up, infidel dog!" She went to take the camcorder and he began to scream in her face in Arabic.

At that exact moment, all 11 of them got up and started to walk to the cabin. This is where I had had enough! I got up and started to the back where I heard a voice behind me from another Texan twice my size say, "I got your back." I grabbed the man who had been on the phone by the arm and said, "you WILL go sit down or you Will be thrown from this plane!" As I led him around me to take his seat, the fellow Texan grabbed him by the back of his neck and his waist and headed out with him. I then grabbed the second man and said, "You WILL do the same!" He protested but adrenaline was flowing now and he was going to go. As I escorted him forward, the plane doors open and 3 TSA agents and 4 police officers entered. Me and my new Texan friend were told to cease and desist for they had this under control. I was happy to oblige actually. There was some commotion in the back, but within moments, all 11 were escorted off the plane. They then unloaded their luggage.

We talked about the occurrence and were in disbelief that it had happened, when suddenly, the door opened again and on walked all eleven!! Stone faced, eyes front and robotic (the only way I can describe it). The stewardess from the back had been in tears and when she saw this, she was having NONE of it! Being that I was up front, I heard and saw the whole ordeal. She told the TSA agent there was NO WAY she was staying on the plane with these men. The agent told her they had searched them and were going to go through their luggage with a fine tooth comb and that they were allowed to proceed to Houston. The captain and co-captain came out and told the agent, "we and our crew will not fly this plane!" After a word or two, the entire crew, luggage in tow, left the plane. Five minutes later, the cabin door opened again and a whole new crew walked on.

Again, this is where I had had enough!! I got up and asked, "What the hell is going on?" I was told to take my seat. They were sorry for the delay and I would be home shortly. I said, "I'm getting off this plane." The stewardess sternly told me that she could not allow me to get off.

Now I'm mad! I said, "I am a grown man who bought this ticket, who's time is mine with a family at home and I am going through that door, or I'm going through that door with you under my arm!! But I am going through that door!!" And I heard a voice behind me say, "So am I." Then everyone behind us started to get up and say the same. Within 2 minutes, I was walking off that plane where I was met with more agents who asked me to write a statement. I had 5 hours to kill at this point so why the hell not. Due to the amount of people who got off that flight, it was cancelled. I was supposed to be in Houston at 6pm. I got here at 12:30am.

Look up the date. Flight 297, Atlanta to Houston.

If this wasn't a dry run, I don't know what one is. They wanted to see how TSA would handle it, how the crew would handle it, and how the passengers would handle it.

I'm telling this to you because I want you to know. The threat is real. I saw it with my own eyes.

MORE SOURCES:
http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/17508

http://www.melissaclouthier.com/2009...orist-dry-run/

Another Terrorist Dry Run: Part II Interview With Witness Dr. Keith Robinson
http://www.melissaclouthier.com/2009...eith-robinson/

Info on Dr Robinson:
http://www.speakermatch.com/keynotes.../602725113.htm

http://espositosmusings.files.wordpr...-incident1.pdf

WEAK REPORTING BY FOX NEWS:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,575558,00.html

And, for what it's worth, SNOPES:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/flight297.asp

[BRAVO-SMASH]

That got my adrenaline running just reading that! Im happy to hear he took the actions he did to control the situation on the plane until authorities arrived and for taking a later flight which in turn influenced others to follow.

[PSM]

I was in first class coming home.

AirTran doesn't have first class.

Eleven muslim men got on the plane in full attire. Two sat in first class and the rest peppered themselves throughout the plane all the way to the back. As the plane taxied to the runway, the stewardesses gave the safety spiel we are all so familiar with.

(...)

As I escorted him forward, the plane doors open and 3 TSA agents and 4 police officers entered.

How did TSA get on a taxing a/c?

The captain and co-captain came out and told the agent, "we and our crew will not fly this plane!" After a word or two, the entire crew, luggage in tow, left the plane. Five minutes later, the cabin door opened again and a whole new crew walked on.

A full reserve crew in 5 minutes? I don't think so.

A self-aggrandizing exaggeration if nothing else.

Pat

[The Reaper]

Anyone else smell a lawsuit, if this is true?

TR

[Dozer523]

I'm with PSM.
Add: Jihadists goin' to see the virgins after watching porn. (Right, maybe a training film.)
and: "Shut up Infidel dog" (why not just say "I Kill You" and try to look like a skeleton?)
Way too much drama. Terry Maxon's a sucker.

[rubberneck]

Originally Posted by Dozer523

I'm with PSM.
Add: Jihadists goin' to see the virgins after watching porn. (Right, maybe a training film.)
and: "Shut up Infidel dog" (why not just say "I Kill You" and try to look like a skeleton?)
Way too much drama. Terry Maxon's a sucker.

I dunno, the 9/11 hijkackers spent a considerable amount of time at strip clubs down in Florida while undergoing flight training.

[PSM]

Originally Posted by Dozer523

Way too much drama. Terry Maxon's a sucker.

So it would seem:

AirTran responds to passenger's terrorism email
11:43 AM Fri, Dec 04, 2009 | Permalink
Terry Maxon/Reporter Bio | E-mail | News tips

We have two updates on the AirTran Airways incident Nov. 17 that has gotten many people agitated.

Flight 297 was delayed for about two and a half hours because some passengers wouldn't comply with orders from flight attendants. (We all agree on that, right?)

A passenger originally on that flight sent out an email saying it appeared to him to have the look of a terrorist dry run, and that email has gone viral. It's probably driven AirTran nutty trying to respond to it.

In the latest developments, Houston television station KHOU has done a story about the flight and has talked to the man who sent the email, Tedd Petruna. You can click this link to see the story.

The station quoted Petruna as saying: ""I'm glad it got out. Due to personal and financial reasons, I can't speak about this."

The report said Petruna "admits that his description of the men's attire was wrong, and he admits he didn't personally see anyone watching pornographic videos."

And AirTran has posted a long message on its internal web site responding to the email point by point, and cites many discrepancies between what Petruna's email claimed and what it says its investigation found out.

"We bring this to your attention in order to dispel myths that are beginning to make the rounds in chat rooms, blogs and conspiracy theorists' Web sites," AirTran told its employees.

Below, we have the entire AirTran message.

AirTran 297- Anatomy of an Urban Legend

Posted on 04 December 2009

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.

Since the flight and initial media reports, several blogs and Internet sites have recounted the incident as portrayed by a passenger originally scheduled for the flight. Below is that passenger's account (unedited in any way including spelling and grammar), as reported on several blogs. Highlighted between the passenger's account, are the factually accurate circumstances surrounding this incident.

We bring this to your attention in order to dispel myths that are beginning to make the rounds in chat rooms, blogs and conspiracy theorists' Web sites.

________________________________________

CONTINUED:

[BRAVO-SMASH]

Originally Posted by BRAVO-SMASH

That got my adrenaline running just reading that! Im happy to hear he took the actions he did to control the situation on the plane until authorities arrived and for taking a later flight which in turn influenced others to follow.

Boy i feel gullible. Way to dig in to this!

Appears to be another case of some moron trying to impress somebody with a big stretched out story and it got spread too wide. Reminds me of the dipshit Captain who told someone during last year's campaign that US infantrymen in Iraq and Afghanistan were battlefield recovering weapons and ammo because they were superior to our issued weapons and it got out to the MSM. I seem to recall some retard candidate picked up that story, inflated it some more and ran with it...f***ing idiot...oh wait, he got elected. bwaha

In April 2002 I escorted the remains of a teammate to his mother in NYC. I flew in my dress uniform of course. I got searched before boarding at two stops while dressed in my A's... Go figure.

The second time I was searched was in Newark I think it was. While I was being wanded, standing there arms out, barefooted, 2 robe-clad arabs were watching me very intently while they were boarding the plane. As luck would have it, they had the center and window seats beside me. As I sat I told them both, "Neither of you MFers is getting up during this flight I hope you know."

They didn't budge throughout the flight, didn't sleep, didn't talk, didn't read. I don't know who they were, don't care.

I am not PC, not gonna be PC, don't care about pissing off a stinking muslim. They can all line up and kiss my infidel @$$ one by one.

[longrange1947]

I stand by my statement. Unless we begin to actually punish idiots that act out on planes then we will continue to have a problem. This case has been proven to be BS, that does NOT negate the other cases of acting out.

rltipton - I am with you, I was searched at Reno with a military ticket and had to remove boots, etc, my plane did not leave on time and I spent some time up in the waiting area. We began to board a new plane and two individuals were called out to be searched/checked. Myself, and one of my traveling compadres, also on gov't orders. I firmly believe they pick on us because they know it will be easy, quick and uncomplicated. I decided to complicate matters by asking why I was searched twice, and if they thought the first search was not thorough enough and if they thought being a gov't worker made me even more dangerous. I stayed polite, just curious.

[T-Rock]

Interesting interview by a passenger who was onboard:

http://www.wsbtv.com/video/21890485/index.html

[Sigaba]

Originally Posted by longrange1947

...[S]earched at Reno...

FWIW, I don't travel extensively and I'm a run of the mill low speed guy. The most extensive search I've been subjected to was flying out of Reno in October, 2002.

I did not mind. The search was much more reassuring that TSA was doing its job than the usual "Olé" I had received earlier that year in other airports.

I agree that acts of ass-hattery in an airport/aboard a plane should receive special attention. Passengers/aircrew members that cause flights to be delayed should not only get a thorough interview but also a bill for the delay they've caused, a potential fine for nit-wittery, and a special check mark in a database.

This last reward so that they'll receive thorough (but professional) searches on their next ten flights. Oh, you missed your flight? Terribly sorry. Well, if you go back to the ticket counter, you can get on another flight...no, not the gate, the actual ticket counter...yes, that does mean you'll have to be searched again...oh, terribly sorry...that is policy.

My $0.02.