Thu, Sep 23, 2004
Farsi Handwriting -- On In-Flight Magazine -- Forces Flight
Cancellation
Okay, maybe we're a bit over-tweaked here.
A Midwest Airlines flight from Milwaukee to San Francisco was
canceled Sunday night after a passenger, casually flipping through
an in-flight magazine found in the seatback pocket before him,
spotted what looked like Arabic handwriting among the pages.
The aircraft, with 123 people on board, had already left the
gate and was taxiing for take-off when the passenger notified a
cabin crew member of the discovery. The flight crew turned right
around and headed back to the gate.
The aircraft, everyone and everything on board was searched.
Nothing was found. The 118 passengers were put up at local
hotels.
Of course, the handwritten passage was thoroughly analyzed. In
the end, Midwest spokeswoman Carol Skornicka said the writing was
something like a prayer, "something of a contemplative nature."
Skornicka defended the flight crew's decision to return to the
gate. "Whenever there's anything that anybody asks a question
about, no one wants to take any chances," she said.
But Janan Najeeb, director of the Milwaukee Muslim Women's
Coalition, told local reporters the airline overreacted. "This is
really unfortunate, and I think it's just basically a result of
what's been happening nationally. When you have individuals who
can't read a foreign language and assume some scribbles on
something is a terrorist message, there's something clearly wrong
with the direction the country is going."
More News
Light Gun A handheld directional light signaling device which emits a brilliant narrow beam of white, green, or red light as selected by the tower controller. The color and type of>[...]
"The journey to this achievement started nearly a decade ago when a freshly commissioned Gentry, driven by a fascination with new technologies and a desire to contribute significan>[...]
Aero Linx: JAARS, Inc. For decades now, we’ve landed planes on narrow rivers and towering mountains. We’ve outfitted boats and vehicles to reach villages that rarely se>[...]
"Our driven and innovative team of military and civilian Airmen delivers combat power daily, ensuring our nation is ready today and tomorrow." Source: General Duke Richardson, AFMC>[...]
Aircraft Conflict Predicted conflict, within EDST of two aircraft, or between aircraft and airspace. A Red alert is used for conflicts when the predicted minimum separation is 5 na>[...]