Flight attendant foils kidnappers with flight attendant training skills

by Jamie Rhein on

Heather Poole, Gadling’s very own flight attendant who knows the moves to take care of herself and everyone else on a loaded plane, brought this China Daily article to our attention. In China, a flight attendant who two guys had kidnapped, got away by using the anti-hijacking techniques she learned in flight attendant training.

The attendant, an employee of Shanghai Airlines, learned — in preparation for the Beijing Olympics — how to stay calm, act obedient, keep the kidnappers engaged, discretely untie a rope, and make a run for it when the kidnappers weren’t paying attention to her. According to the story, one of the men got into her car at a green light and forced her to pick up another man at a different location.

They took her bank card and her pin number. Her quick thinking probably saved her life. It turns out that, last July, these two guys killed a woman motorist they had kidnapped. This was discovered after she told the police what had happened and they were able to apprehend this pair.

As this story points out, one that is corroborated by Heather’s Galley Gossip post on recurrent flight attendant training, flight attendants know the moves that make a difference in air travel. Maybe their theme song ought to be “Kung Fu Fighting.” Everyone knows Kung Fu fighting, fast as lightning … although in this case, rope skills and calm were the key ingredients.


That flight attendant is something of a hero … something these women are definitely NOT. Click the pictures to find out what kinds of trouble they were getting to in the air.


When karaoke turns deadly

by Josh Lew on

Karaoke is deadly. Deadly boring. That is, unless you happen to be quite drunk or with someone you are physically attracted to. I’ve never gone out to find a place to sing karaoke. But I have spent a lot of time in East Asia, where karaoke seems to seek you out. I’ve witnessed some violence as a result of the sing-along phenomenon. Usually, it stems from “you took my beer” rather than “hand over the mic.” Come to think of it, people get the most agitated when someone doesn’t sing, rather than when they sing too much.

But that wasn’t the case in Sandakan, Borneo recently. A 23 year-old man was stabbed to death in a fight that began when he refused to give up the karaoke mic. Abdul Sani Doli, the deceased, was apparently feeling the groove that night. Unfortunately, others in the bar were not. When he refused to give up the stage to the next person in line, an argument broke out. It only ended when Doli was stabbed by at least two other patrons on the street as he fled the scene.

Just in time for Halloween: Deadly Hotels

by Anna Brones on

With Halloween and Day of the Dead just around the corner, even travel takes a ghoulish turn. Over at Concierge, Ralph Martin put together the article Deadly Hotels, perfect for the vacation where you want to stay in a truly haunted house. Although I can’t say the thought of staying in a hotel where murders and famous deaths have taken place really appeals to me, ’tis the season.

Just where should you head for a freaky Halloween? Here are just three to get you in a spooky mood:

  • Hotel Chelsea, New York – The hotel is well known on its own, but it’s also famous for being the spot where former bass player for the Sex Pistols, Sid Vicious, killed his girlfriend Nancy Spungen. If you’re a believer in ghosts, don’t hang out in room 100, which is where Spungen was found dead on the floor with a knife wound in her abdomen.
  • L’Hotel, Paris – It’s a classy boutique hotel nowadays, but once upon a time it was where Oscar Wilde came to die.He was quoted complaining about the decor, “My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. One or other of us has got to go.” Wilde’s spirit might still roam the halls, but at least they’re covered in new wallpaper.
  • Landmark Motor Hotel, Los Angeles – An LA trip wouldn’t be complete without a stay in the place of a celebrity’s last hurrah and this hotel happens to be where Janis Joplin died of an alcohol and heroin overdose.

Read about the other deadly hotels, which include the murder of an empress and a visit by the Manson family, here.

Murder on the Inca Trail

by Martha Edwards on

A divorced British banker died after a blow to the head on the Inca Trail and was found in a nearby river–and it’s raising more than a few eyebrows across the pond. Colin Murphy, 44, disappeared on News Year’s day during a Christmas holiday to Peru from the town of Aguas Calientes in the Andes, not far from the Machu Picchu.

The last hours of his life were spent with 14 other holidayers, who left their campsite on New Year’s Eve to grab a drink at the nearest watering hole. The next day, Mr. Murphy was not in his tent. It’s believed the last person to see him alive was fellow tourist Harvey Layton, a construction worker he had befriend on the trip.

Called “the life and soul of any gathering.”, Mr. Murphy’s body has since been flown back to England, and while investigators are looking into his suspicious death, they’re hesitant to speculate on what happened.

I guess I can stop complaining about how awful my New Year’s Eve was …

High Seas: Prefer Murder or Suicide?

by Iva Skoch on

We’re not ones to fear-monger, but this story was surprising. Thursday’s The Guardian ran a story about the numerous passenger disappearances from cruise ships over the past few years. It turns out that at least 30 people have simply vanished from cruise ships in the past four years.

Considering the large numbers of passengers on cruises annually, and, while very regrettable,30 is not a large number. What’s shocking is how little is done to solve this disappearances or prevent them. Take the disappearance of a woman from a Celebrity Cruise in 2004. On the second day of the cruise, a steward told his boss that the woman’s cabin hadn’t been slept in. Apparently, nothing was done, and the steward continued to place chocolates on the bed each day, through the duration of the cruise. After the cruise was over, the woman’s things were boxed up and removed from the room. And no one notified any authorities. It wasn’t until her family made a missing persons report that any action was taken. The case is still not closed. Not surprising, considering how cold the trail would become..