Passenger makes bomb threat on Delta flight to LA

by Scott Carmichael on

I’m not sure whether it is something in the water, or just a general increase of insane people, but another fool has managed to get arrested after making a bomb threat on his Delta Airlines flight to LA airport.

The man got up out of his chair upon approach to LAX, and announced that he was carrying a bomb.

Several passengers on the flight then subdued the guy, and used plastic ties to keep him from creating more trouble. When the plane landed, the guy then attempted to leave the plane through an emergency exit.

The photo you see above was taken by a passenger on the flight, and was sent to the CNN iReporters site using his Blackberry, talk about a live action report!

Of course, the various federal agencies are now involved, and will be investigating the motives of the suspect, as well as checking the plane for any explosives.

It’s one thing to joke about a bomb, it’s a completely different ballgame when you actually stand up and make such a threat, and hopefully the fool behind this will be locked away for enough time to think long and hard about his actions, and how the passengers on his flight must have felt. Pretty soon the greatest threat to aviation won’t be terrorists, it’ll be insane people.

Worst luck ever: couple vacation in New York, London and Mumbai just as terrorists attack

by Karen Walrond on

The Sydney Times Herald is reporting the uncanny story of Mr. and Mrs. James and Jenny Cairns-Lawrence, a young couple from Dudley, United Kingdom, who seem to have a knack for choosing vacation spots where terrorists are about to strike: they have found themselves in New York, London and Mumbai during the exact times that each of the three cities were viciously attacked by terrorists.

Says Mrs. Cairns-Lawrence, “It’s a strange coincidence. The terror attacks just happened when we were in the cities. I shouldn’t be laughing about it, but it is a strange coincidence.”

Dude, remind me to check where these two are the next time I plan an international trip. And as one of my Gadling colleagues said, aren’t people like these usually called “persons of interest”?

Mayhem in Mumbai and why not living in India seems safer

by Jamie Rhein on

This time six years ago, I was pregnant and living in New Delhi, India. On one of my journeys to a sonogram appointment, the taxi passed by one of the Indian government buildings where terrorists had attempted an attack that day. The camera crews and reporters were just leaving.

Later at the doctor’s office, as I saw a clear image of my son thanks to 3-D technology, the curve of his nose and the way his hand rested against his cheek showed the contrast between his life on the inside and what life felt like on the outside. There was a sharp division.

Generally, I see the world as a safe place. Even when we continued to live in India, the various incidents of unrest did not startle us much. We went about our lives like most people do. We worked, visited with friends and took interesting trips to various places where I never felt unease.

Since we left India, two places we used to go regularly in New Delhi have been bombed. Orissa, a state we visited before we moved to India has been fraught with religious unrest.

Now, with the latest hostage situation and killings in Mumbai–a place we did not get a chance to visit but planned to if we had not moved back to the U.S, the division between safety and danger seems all that more acute.

I’m certain that if we were still living in India, we’d be going about our business as usual and we would probably be on a Thanksgiving weekend away somewhere at this moment. Perhaps, we’d be staying at one of our favorite raj palaces turned into a hotel surrounded by countryside with nothing but tiny villages for miles.

Still, the news coming out of India gives me the feeling that sometimes, as mundane as home may seem, home feels like a blessing.

Then again, it’s always good to travel to remind oneself, that in most cases, the world is safe despite the news.

[This article posted 2 hours ago in the Business Standard says that the hostage situation is under control. The photo is of the Taj Palace burning.]

In-flight system might find terrorists on passenger planes

by Jamie Rhein on

Years ago, a good friend of mine once worked for a company in Albuquerque, New Mexico that created computer programs to simulate flight patterns of airplanes so that they could be used in military training. The programs were to help people to tell the difference between friendly airplanes and foe airplanes. I think there was a neutral category as well. The company gave an open house once so I learned a bit about how the system was supposed to work. The details are a bit fuzzy. I don’t know if the efforts were successful, but there were months spent on the project.

Spring forward to 2008. These days, the technology for tracking threats is narrowing down to the inside of an airplane. According to this article in New Scientist Tech, the Security of Aircraft in the Future European Environment (SAFEE) project is one that combines surveillance cameras with “Big Brother” software in order to see all activities in an airplane. Is that person sitting next to you a friend or a foe? One aspect of the system is that each seat has a camera focused on it.

Things like: Just how long has that person been standing next to the cockpit door? What’s with the person lounging around between the galley and the bathroom? Are they looking to join the Mile High Club, or something else? That person in the left aisle seat of row J looks suspicious and is sweating buckets. Is that person just extremely hot or a terrorist?

The idea of SAFEE is that a surveillance camera system can alert personnel about a potential threat before the threat takes action. Because the system has the capability of seeing all parts of the aircraft’s inside, a terrorist can’t hide out behind a drink cart. (Except with peanuts not being served as cost saving, I’d say drinks will be the next to go. Then it will be, what cart?)

Critics of this system say that it will need to be tested on thousands of passengers before it is declared reliable.

I’m thinking that if the system doesn’t work after cameras are installed in planes, there is potential for a reality TV show. It doesn’t take more than belongings spilling out of an overhead bin and bonking people in the head for people to laugh from the comfort of their living room. Showing what happens in people’s seats with the right commentary to go along with the footage might be entertaining indeed.

No Fly List Exposed

by Adrienne Wilson on

Another CBS News piece I missed for who knows what reason, but they’ve got a pretty good summary of what went down in the program. In a very interesting episode of 60 Minutes, correspondent Steve Kroft goes over the very sloppy and inaccurate No Fly government list that can detain fliers for hours and create a ton of unnecessary hassle for the innocent or unlikely terrorist. For starters the “No Fly” list is part of a secret government database compiled after 9/11 to keep all the bad frequent fliers from flying so frequently or at all. In all seriousness, it is supposed to prevent suspected terrorists from boarding planes, but after managing to obtain a copy of the extra, extra secret list – 60 Minutes uncovers and exposes some major flaws. For instance 14 of the 19 9/11 hijackers who have been dead for five years are still on the list. Shocking? Not to some… When Kroft questioned Donna Bucella, who has run the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Center since 2003, her response was:

“Well, just because a person has died doesn’t necessarily mean their identity has died. People sometimes carry the identity of those who have died.”

Okay, Bucella has a point with that one, but a good one? I don’t think so – what moron would assume the identity of a known terrorist? Moving along, also found on the list is Saddam Hussein, convicted terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui, Francois Genoud (Nazi sympathizer and financier of Arab terrorism, deceased for ten years now), Evo Morales (president of Bolivia) and to make a long list of flaws short last, but not least comes Robert Johnson. Poor, poor Robert Johnson – when 60 Minutes brought in 12 men, all named Robert Johnson to discuss the topic, all had some trouble boarding planes at one point or another. With a name as common like that, I think Jaunted finds the only possible solution to beating the hassle in their No Fly rant. Their solution – change your name to Bobby Johnny. Sounds a lot like Ricky Bobby to me.

As far as I know I’m not on the list, but I’d love to hear some first hand accounts. Any Gadling readers out there wrongly on the rotten No Fly List? Please, share.