Paranoid TSA checkpoint agents arrest man over harmless Arabic flashcards

by Scott Carmichael on

Anyone trying to learn a new language while heading through the airport beware – the TSA is apparently paying special attention to people with flashcards.

When airline passenger Nick George tried to pass through the checkpoint at Phillidephia airport, the TSA found the harmless flashcards in his bag, handcuffed him and detained him for five hours.

Given the reaction from the TSA, you’d expect that the flashcards were teaching him words like “hijack” or “bomb”, but they were all completely harmless words like “graduate” or “funny”.

The TSA obviously now assumes that anything in Arabic is a matter of national security, because during their interrogation of Mr. George, they demanded answers to stupid questions like “who was behind 9/11” and “what language does Osama Bin Laden speak”. Worst of all, Mr. George doesn’t even look like your everyday terrorist – he’s just a young American guy from California. So, thanks to their utter stupidity, the TSA is now on the receiving end of a lawsuit by the ACLU.

UPDATE: According to a different report, some of the flash cards did indeed contain words like “bomb” and “terrorist”, but Mr. George made it clear that he was learning those words so he could understand news stories from the Middle East.

Disruptive passenger didn’t count on black belt “fight attendant”

by Scott Carmichael on

Rarely do you hear the words “At that point, I just put him into a choke hold” coming from a flight attendant.

But this is exactly what happened on US Airways flight 1447 last week when passenger Kinman Chan allegedly started freaking out after he doubled up on his dose of medicinal marijuana.

According to reports, halfway into the flight, Mr. Chan started losing his mind – screaming, banging on the bathroom doors and opening compartments in the rear of the plane.

He then went into a bathroom and came out with his pants down. It was at this point that flight attendant Lorin Gorman told him to sit down. When he refused, he also made a threatening motion to her – so she put him in an arm lock, jumped on him, and put him in a choke hold.

The plane was diverted to Pittsburgh where Chan was arrested and charged with disrupting a flight attendant. He now faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Poor Mr. Chan obviously had not expected to run into a fourth-degree Tae Kwon Do expert on his flight. She credits her post-9/11 special training for her skills and ability to deal with small spaces.%Gallery-76818%

Airport checkpoint nabs gang with 518 stolen Wal-Mart gift cards

by Scott Carmichael on

To balance out some of the negative TSA checkpoint stories, I’m always happy when we stumble across some positive stories from the airport. In this story, TSA agents at Nashville airport noticed something strange in the luggage of a passenger, and got the local airport police involved.

Inside the suitcase was a stash of 518 Wal-mart gift cards. When police arrived at the checkpoint, six people were apprehended, but one of the gang members managed to escape and leave the airport. According to Nashville police, the gang used the Wal-Mart gift cards to act as “carriers” for stolen credit card information, and used the cards to purchase other gift cards. The total value of the stolen gift cards purchased could be well over $10,000.

The suspects have been charged with “conspiracy to commit fraudulent use of a credit card and conspiracy to commit identity theft”. Because of the extent of their crime, Nashville police are working with the United States Secret Service on the investigation.

It just goes to show how stupid some criminals are – despite managing to find stolen credit cards, and being “smart” enough to fly all over the country to commit their crime, they didn’t realize that the airport checkpoint agents may find their collection of gift cards a tad suspicious.

Check out these other great stories from AOL Travel

Skycaps take American Airlines to court over loss of tips

by Scott Carmichael on

American Airlines is set to lose quite a bit of money after a Boston judge ruled Skycaps from 85 airports can join a class action lawsuit against the airline.

At the heart of the ruling is an American Airlines $2 fee for curbside bag check-in at the airport. In the past, curbside check-in was considered free – but tipping the skycap was customary. Once American implemented the $2 fee, passengers assumed that covered the entire cost.

One Skycap testified that his daily tips dropped from $200 to $70.

Logan airport skycaps already won a ruling, awarding them $325,000 to be split between nine workers.

Sadly for American Airlines, their money making scheme may have backfired quite badly. If other skycaps win in this class action lawsuit, any money the airline made with the fee will probably be wiped out.

I’m torn over the issue – none of the new sources mention whether the skycap tips came on top of their salary, or whether they had to live off tips like some restaurant staff members. Assuming they made a normal salary, their $4000/month in tips seems fairly generous. I’m also sure the IRS will be paying attention to this case as it wouldn’t surprise me if cash tips were not always reported accurately.

Las Vegas singer in hot water over abandoned moldy rotting private jet

by Scott Carmichael on

Vegas superstar Wayne Newton is in a spot of trouble over a $61,000 parking ticket for his private jet. The plane was flown to Oakland County airport in Waterford, MI five years ago, and he doesn’t seem in any kind of rush to pay the fee or remove his plane.

The plane underwent $2 million in extensive renovations at a local facility, and after the work was completed, it was parked at the airport.

The Fokker F-28 may have been renovated on the outside, but because nobody used it for several years, the inside is full of black mold, making the plane virtually unusable.

When a prospective buyer inspected the plane last year, the mold was discovered, and the sale fell through. Apparently the mold is so bad, that the plane will need to be scrapped. Mr. Newton has failed to respond to any requests by the airport, and they may end up being stuck with the $30,000 removal bill.