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A passenger on a diverted AirTran Airways flight accused of becoming unruly after he was refused more alcohol was charged Wednesday with interfering with a flight crew. Muhammad Abu Tahir, 47, appeared in federal court with an interpreter. Tahir did not officially enter a plea but said "no" after the interpreter repeated the allegations read by the judge. "No, sir, you don't need to say anything now," U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen Tafoya replied, explaining the hearing was only intended to advise him of the charge. He then answered "yes" when asked if he understood the charge. Authorities said Tahir, who...

An AirTran Airways passenger whose actions prompted two military jets to scramble ... Muhammad Abu Tahir, 47, is due in federal court Wednesday in Denver. An initial appearance scheduled Monday was postponed so an interpreter who speaks Tahir's native Urdu could be found. He opened the door twice, once to place his shoes and socks outside the door, according to the affidavit. The second time, the door opened to reveal he was shaving with no shirt on.

Unruly man grounds AirTran flight By Mashaun D. Simon The Atlanta Journal-Constitution 9:16 p.m. Friday, January 8, 2010 The unruly and allegedly drunk passenger who forced an emergency landing of an AirTran jet flying from Atlanta to San Francisco Friday is being held over the weekend in anticipation of federal charges being filed Monday. Muhammad Abu Tahir, 46, of Virginia was transported to the El Paso, Co. County jail where he will be detained on a federal hold, said FBI officials. Federal charges for interference with a flight crew are expected to be filed, FBI spokeswoman Kathleen Wright told the...

The unruly and allegedly drunk passenger who forced an emergency landing of an AirTran jet flying from Atlanta to San Francisco Friday is being held over the weekend in anticipation of federal charges being filed Monday. Muhammad Abu Tahir, 46, of Virginia was transported to the El Paso, Co. County jail where he will be detained on a federal hold, said FBI officials. Federal charges for interference with a flight crew are expected to be filed, FBI spokeswoman Kathleen Wright told the AJC Friday night. The incident occurred on AirTran flight #39 as the plane neared Colorado Springs, Co. AirTran...

Neil Cavuto just read news crossing the wire. Two fighter jets were launched by NORAD from Tyndall AFB in FL due to an issue with an unruly passenger on an Air Tran flight from Atlanta to San Francisco. Hopefully, more follows soon. Plane has landed at Colorado Springs airport. A young man was taken into custody after the flight was diverted. The man was thought to be intoxicated and locked himself in the bathroom. The crew radioed the situation, and the fighters were launched. Everyone's safe on the flight .. the passenger is in custody.

Airtran flight 39, Atlanta to San Francisco, unruly passenger on board. Fighters launched to escort plane, landed in Colorado Springs. Info per Neil Cavuto on Fox News; no link yet.

In this True Crime post, theft of money from the U.S. treasury to pay off campaign debts is a crime although Obama likely won't get charged. Same for appointing a pervert for "Safe School Czar". We close the door on Amanda Knox with some final thoughts, A couple of intriguing incidents involving airplane behavior by Muslims and TSA Internet posts that could be way more sinister than we know. Of course, there's some Tiger Woods commentary. Much more...all with pics and video you'll find nowhere else on the Internet.

http://www.wsbtv.com/video/21890485/index.html

Like Climategate, there is another story the national mainstream media has either missed or largely ignored, and that is the story of what really happened November 17th on Airtran's Flight 297 from Atlanta to Houston. Much confusion remains about exactly what transpired that afternoon on a plane preparing for takeoff at Hartsfield International Airport. By every account the undisputed facts are a large group of men disturbed procedures and upset the flight crew to the point it caused the flight to be delayed. At least one passenger allegedly refused to comply with repeated requests from flight attendants to discontinue his...

Cover-up hinted as case recalls 'flying imams' Evidence that an incident on an Air Tran flight from Atlanta to Houston could have been a "dry run" for a possible hijacking is mounting, with analysts hinting at a cover-up because of an airline gag order on employees and more witnesses coming forward to say they were afraid. The airline, meanwhile, is sticking to its prepared statements that there was an issue with a passenger and a cell phone but the matter is considered closed. ... Charges of suppressed information now are being leveled. "Two and a half weeks later, the incident...

TV interview of Brent Brown, head of Chesley-Brown of Atlanta, and a passenger on AirTran Flight 297. He is very well spoken and answers questions that have been brought up on the Flight 297 threads "If there is a secur He addresses the email in beginning @ 3:00 and again later. As he points out at 8:15, there is no need to embellish an already incredible story. @4:55 -- The passengers were walking around refusing to cooperate; not staying in their seats, against FAA rules, pilot turned plane around to secure the cabin. It was extremely tense, never experienced anything...

Thanks again, Marietta Daily Journal, for doing what news organizations are supposed to do: investigate and inform.

Rumors continued to circulate Monday via e-mail and the Internet about what exactly happened on an AirTran flight at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in November. At the time, AirTran told Channel 2 Action News that an unruly passenger on a cell phone forced the pilot to take the plane back to the gate. Monday, a passenger said the situation went well beyond that. “It was extremely intense. I’ve never experienced anything like that,” said passenger Brent Brown. Brown runs a security consultant company and is a frequent flier. But even for him, he said the events of Flight 297 were...

In the age of balloon boys and party crashers, regular people just don't know what to believe any more. Last week, I spent more than my share of hours trying to track down the truth about an incident on an AirTran flight out of Atlanta on Nov. 17. Flight 297 to Houston, with about 70 passengers onboard, departed gate C-16 at 4:43 p.m. Until something happened that caused the pilot to turn around and come back. Two and a half weeks later, the incident is in high dispute, thanks to some passengers who have spoken out on the Internet about...

Why is AirTran lying about its passengers? And why would you believe the company that refuses to answer important questions or release documents to back up their claims? The airline may face a lawsuit, which will finally uncover the proof that a dry run was conducted by 11 Muslim men, and it tried to force passengers to fly with them, anyway. As readers know, on Thursday, I posted an e-mail written by Tedd J. Petruna, a NASA employee who was on AirTran Flight 297 from Atlanta to Houston on November 17th of this year. He recounted in the e-mail–which he...

slideshow In the age of balloon boys and party crashers, regular people just don't know what to believe any more. Last week, I spent more than my share of hours trying to track down the truth about an incident on an AirTran flight out of Atlanta on Nov. 17. Flight 297 to Houston, with about 70 passengers onboard, departed gate C-16 at 4:43 p.m. Until something happened that caused the pilot to turn around and come back. Two and a half weeks later, the incident is in high dispute, thanks to some passengers who have spoken out on the Internet...

It’s no surprise that AirTran, the TSA, and other authorities are circling the wagons and claiming that Petruna’s and, now, Dr. Robinson’s, accounts aren’t true. That’s what they always do. Attack the messenger to block the truth. But I believe Petruna and, now, Robinson. As we know, authorities think we shouldn’t know about these things. But I had the same experience when Detroit Metro Airport police told me a bomb was found on a Northwest flight, which was evacuated, and Northwest denied it. Or when Muslim men were on a Northwest flight from Detroit to Los Angeles and DHS released...

It’s no surprise that AirTran, the TSA, and other authorities are circling the wagons and claiming that Petruna’s and, now, Dr. Robinson’s, accounts aren’t true. That’s what they always do. Attack the messenger to block the truth. But I believe Petruna and, now, Robinson. AirTran and the authorities have every motivation to lie. They acted in the best interests of . . .? Well, certainly not their passengers. As we know, authorities think we shouldn’t know about these things. They don’t want us to panic or to be suspicious of Muslims, when they’re busy doing outreach over shawarmeh at “Ahmed’s...

SNIPPET: ""After conducting additional research into this situation, we have verified, according to flight manifests (legally binding documents) that the individual that allegedly created a first-hand account of events on-board AirTran Airways Flight 297, a Theodore Petruna, was never actually on-board the flight," AirTran said in a statement, which the AJC was the first to obtain. An e-mail from a Tedd Petruna, which he told the AJC via a Facebook message Friday was intended only for friends and family, made the rounds online this week after one of those friends apparently forwarded it to others." I SNIPPET: "Neither Petruna nor...

On November 17, an incident took place aboard AirTran Flight 297 scheduled to fly from Atlanta Hartsfield Airport to Houston that the media does not want to cover and everyone from the airline to the TSA and other government agencies want to keep very quiet.

"...The 3rd stewardess informed them that they were not to have electronic devices on at this time. To which one of the men said "Shut up infidel dog!" She went to take the camcorder and he began to scream in her face in Arabic. At that exact moment, all 11 of them got up and started to walk the cabin. This is where I had had enough! I got up and started to the back where I heard a voice behind me from another Texan twice my size say "I got your back." I grabbed the man who had been...

It's a little easier to understand why a man who claimed to have thwarted a potential terrorist attack on a plane has not answered repeated requests to tell his story. He was not on the plane, according to AirTran Airways. "After conducting additional research into this situation, we have verified, according to flight manifests (legally binding documents) that the individual that allegedly created a first-hand account of events on-board AirTran Airways Flight 297, a Theodore Petruna, was never actually on-board the flight," AirTran said in a statement, which the AJC was the first to obtain. An e-mail from a Tedd...

Air Tran Airways Flight 297 was scheduled to leave Atlanta at 4:43PM in route to Houston Hobby Airport. Because of my position as Corps Commander of the Houston Regional Community Chaplain Corps, I frequently wear my Chaplain jacket as I travel. Like some sort of heavenly magnet, the Chaplain jacket invites discussion with a wide variety of people who are struggling with issues in need of a comforting ear. My connecting flight was late and the door to the jet way closed prior to my boarding. So, even though I was rescheduled on a much later flight far from C16...

UPDATE,...Earlier today, I contacted Tedd Petruna, the brave passenger on AirTran Flight 297, who–with another Texan–saved the day from apparent Islamic terrorists, leaving him a voicemail message asking for confirmation of the e-mail and events below. Mr. Petruna called me back, tonight, and confirmed that he did write the e-mail below and that it’s all true. WAKE. UP. AMERICA. We are under siege. I begin with the caveat that I don’t know whether or not this is true. However, it certainly sounds like it is, and the guy-Tedd J. Petruna of NASA–has his e-mail address and home and work phone...

The FAA is investigating an incident aboard an AirTran flight from Atlanta to Houston that touched off a firestorm of e-mails. AirTran Flight 297 was delayed on November 17 after a passenger refused to turn off his cell phone. *snip* According to the e-mail, Petruna and other passengers believed they witnessed a dry run for a terrorist attack. Petruna said he couldn’t talk on camera, but Chaplain Keith Robinson, who was also on the flight, did talk with us. *snip* “Flight attendants were sobbing openly,” Robinson said. Robinson said a passenger getting off the plane warned him not to get...

Read in the context of Doug Hagmann’s explanation of al battar, is this a simple misunderstanding or something more sinister? From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating what led to the two-and-a-half hour delay of a Tuesday flight from Atlanta to Houston, an agency spokeswoman said Wednesday morning. An AirTran spokesman said a man traveling with a group Tuesday afternoon refused to turn his cell phone off before takeoff. But the woman sitting behind the man said it wasn’t a phone at all, and feels the entire incident was the result of poor communication. “He was not...

The media reports about an incident aboard an AirTran flight from Atlanta to Houston on November 17 sound pretty innocent. At least until you get the rest of the story and learn that the "group" on the plane that were so disruptive were Muslim men! And another passenger confirms the details of the seeming effort to test the defenses of the flight crew. We will talk to Dr. Keith Robinson, one of the passengers on the AirTran flight, on the Steve Gill Show on Thursday! Here is more about Keith. (at site) http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/faa-to-investigate-cell-202143.html http://espositosmusings.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/air-tran-flight-297-incident1.pdf (Keith Robinson, Chaplain that is credited...

Nine Muslim passengers were kicked off a flight from Washington, D.C., to Florida after other passengers reported hearing a suspicious remark about airplane security. AirTran Airways spokesman Tad Hutcheson called the incident on the New Year's Day flight from Reagan National Airport to Orlando, Fla., a misunderstanding, but defended the company's response. He said the airline followed federal rules and did nothing wrong. One of the Muslim passengers, Kashif Irfan, told The Washington Post the confusion began when his brother was talking about the safest place to sit on an airplane. "My brother and his wife were discussing some aspect...

D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton says she wants a hearing on airline practices after nine Muslims were booted off an AirTran Airways flight on New Year's Day.

2 Minutes ago WASHINGTON – AirTran Airways apologized Friday to nine Muslims kicked off a New Year's Day flight to Florida after other passengers reported hearing a suspicious remark about airplane security. One of the passengers said the confusion started at Reagan National Airport just outside Washington, D.C., when he talked about the safest place to sit on an airplane.

WASHINGTON (Jan. 2) - A Muslim family removed from an airliner Thursday after passengers became concerned about their conversation say AirTran officials refused to rebook them, even after FBI investigators cleared them of wrongdoing. Atif Irfan said federal authorities removed eight members of his extended family and a friend after passengers heard them discussing the safest place to sit and misconstrued the nature of the conversation.

<p>WASHINGTON -- Nine Muslim passengers removed from a flight from Washington to Florida after other passengers reported hearing a suspicious remark about airplane security.</p> <p>AirTran Airways spokesman Tad Hutcheson called the incident on the New Year's Day flight from Reagan National Airport to Orlando, Fla., a misunderstanding, but defended the company's response. He said the airline followed federal rules and did nothing wrong.</p>

Officials ordered nine Muslim passengers, including three young children, off an AirTran flight headed to Orlando from Reagan National Airport yesterday afternoon after two other passengers overheard what they thought was a suspicious remark. Members of the party, all but one of them U.S.-born citizens who were headed to a religious retreat in Florida, were subsequently cleared for travel by FBI agents who characterized the incident as a misunderstanding, an airport official said. But the passengers said AirTran refused to rebook them, and they had to pay for seats on another carrier secured with help from the FBI. Kashif Irfan,...

WINCHENDON, Mass. -- A woman said an airline refused to help her after she sat in a urine-soaked seat on a West Palm Beach, Fla., to Boston flight on Sunday night. "I was sitting maybe 30 seconds to minute and realized that my pants were soaked," Jennifer Castellano said. Castellano said she went to the lavatory to check her jeans and long sweater. "I then realized I was saturated in urine from the smell," she said. Castellano said a flight attendant told her someone had gone to the bathroom in the seat during the previous flight. "A flight attendant told...

AirTran Airways is expected today to announce a $288 million hostile takeover bid for Midwest Airlines in what would be the first major acquisition by an American discount carrier. AirTran is making a run at quirky Midwest — long known for its roomy leather seats and chocolate chip cookies baked on board — after two previous offers were rebuffed by Midwest management, according to people familiar with AirTran's plans. If successful, AirTran would gain a second major hub, Milwaukee, and some redemption after its unsuccessful bid in 2004 to obtain enough gates to establish a hub at Chicago's Midway airport....

LONG BEACH, Calif., May 23, 2006 -- Boeing [NYSE: BA] today delivered its final two 717 airplanes to Midwest Airlines and AirTran Airways in a ceremony before thousands of employees, retirees and dignitaries in Long Beach, Calif. The deliveries conclude commercial airplane production in Southern California that began in the 1920s with the Douglas Aircraft Co. The 717 program, which produced 156 airplanes, pioneered breakthrough business and manufacturing processes for Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "Our production system is an industry benchmark because of the lean manufacturing and employee involvement practices we pioneered on the 717 in Long Beach," said Boeing Commercial...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 8, 2005 – Through partnerships with most major U.S. carriers, the Fisher House Foundation is making it possible for Americans to donate unused airline miles to troops wounded in the war on terror and their families. The program, "Operation Hero Miles," was created in 2004, when nearly 500 soldiers per day were returning to the U.S. from Iraq for rest and recuperation. "At that time, the military would only fly service personnel to a gateway city," said Pamela Lea-Maida, administrator of Operation Hero Miles at the Fisher House Foundation. "From there, personnel had to pay the rest of...

Singer and militant homosexual activist Elton John's mug shot will appear on the side of 20 AirTran jets. The move supposedly is designed to promote the launch of satellite radio at each passenger seat.

DALLAS - The bidding war for bankrupt ATA Airlines' assets heated up on Friday when Southwest Airlines offered at least $100 million in cash and loans for gates at Chicago's Midway Airport and an alliance with ATA, its main rival there. Southwest chief executive Gary Kelly said the bid represented the only way that his company could meet its top goal of expanding in Chicago. He said Southwest's proposal would let ATA Airlines Inc. still operate at Midway but with fewer gates. Southwest is seeking to upset the bid of another low-cost carrier, AirTran Airways, a unit of Orlando-based AirTran...