An unruly passenger aboard a Hawaii-bound airliner on Wednesday prompted the pilot to return the plane to Portland, Oregon, escorted by two military fighter jets, in the latest of several US aviation security scares this week.
The Hawaiian Airlines jet en route to Maui’s Kahului Airport turned back because of “a suspicious passenger who made threatening remarks and refused to store his carry-on bag,” said Suzanne Trevino, a spokeswoman for the US Transportation Security Administration.
The plane, escorted by two F-15 fighters, landed in Portland without further incident, and the man, who was not identified, was detained for questioning, authorities said.
The incident followed a spate of security alerts this week at airports in Bakersfield, California; Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota; and Newark, New Jersey, as jitters gripped the US travel industry in the aftermath of a foiled airline bombing attempt on Christmas Day.
“I think this stuff happens every day, and now you’re just noticing,” Trevino said.
(Reuters)
By: HAWX ace - 10th January 2010 at 19:34
Two interesting stories by Oregonlive:
First, the guy was not charged and walked free: No charges for Salem man whose behavior caused Hawaii-bound airliner to return to Portland
And most interesting, the pilots felt the escort was not necessary and nor worth the money cost on aviation fuel for the two F-15 fighters.
Expert: Scrambling fighters to escort Portland airliner understandable, but expensive
By Helen Jung, The Oregonian
January 07, 2010, 11:33PMThe decision to send two F-15 fighter jets to escort a Hawaii-bound plane with an unruly passenger back to Portland was an unusual move that likely cost tens of thousands of dollars, according to an aviation expert.
The military escort of Hawaiian Airlines Flight 39 surprised even the crew onboard, which had considered the threat as “Level 1,” or lowest-level risk, said Hawaiian Airlines spokesman Keoni Wagner.
“Based on that, we were surprised that this triggered the reaction of scrambling fighter jets,” he said. “We don’t know where that came from.”
The decision came from commanders with the Continental North American Aerospace Defense Command, which guards against air attacks in the continental United States. Their decision to scramble jets is a discretionary decision and “truly depends on the circumstances that are unfolding,” said Lt. Col. Susan Romano, public affairs director for Continental NORAD.
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Read more: http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/01/expert_scrambling_fighters_to.html
Best regards
By: Arabella-Cox - 7th January 2010 at 05:31
Flying is becoming a nightmare. No longer an enjoyable experience. Pretty soon people are going to cut down flying to a bare minimum, if they’re not doing so already. But how else do you get around? The train gets stuck in the Chunnel. No trains across the north Atlantic, or any other ocean for that matter. 😡
By: T5 - 7th January 2010 at 05:09
“An unruly passenger aboard a Hawaii-bound airliner on Wednesday prompted the pilot to return the plane to Portland”
“a suspicious passenger who made threatening remarks and refused to store his carry-on bag”
For what reason, when an aircraft is in flight, would a passenger be asked to stow their hand baggage? I don’t get it. If this had occurred before departure, then I could understand the passenger being asked to place it underneath a seat or in the overhead locker, but don’t most passengers get their bags out during the flight to retrieve laptops and other forms of entertainment?
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January 7, 2010 at 2:42 am