Posted on 12/04/2009 10:45:07 AM PST by STARWISE
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 I settled down with a newspaper and only 1/4th of my remaining cell phone battery.
While waiting at the distant gate, I noticed on the scheduling monitors that Flight 297 had returned to gate C16 and was scheduled to leave at 5:45PM. I hurried back to gate C16 in hopes of boarding my original flight after it strangely returned to the gate.
Upon arriving at the gate I noticed that there was a look of solemn concern on the faces of the gate attendants. I asked if I could get on flight 297 when they returned to the gate.
Their faces indicated a distinct level of stress that let everyone in the seating area knew that there was a problem on board. When I approached them a few moments later I said, “I am a Chaplain. Is there some way that I can be of help?” They said, “No.” Obviously, an event had occurred that they would not talk about.
Over the next thirty minutes officials from Air Tran started arriving at the gate, flashing their badges and going down to the plane.
After 6-7 officials exited the door, suddenly it flew open and 12-15 people from the flight hurried off the plane. Anger and fear was etched on their faces as they jerked their carryon and tore into their computer bags to schedule another flight out of Atlanta.
One gentleman confronted the gate agent demanding his luggage be removed from the flight. As I spoke to him he related that when Flight 297 left the concourse the first time it began taxiing to take off when approximately 12 men of Middle Eastern appearance stood up and began dancing and singing in an Arabic dialect.
They refused to be seated when directed to do so by the flight attendants. Then, the singing stopped and some of the men took out their cell phones and began taking pictures of the other individual passengers. Again, the men were ordered to be seated by the flight crew and refused while continuing to take their pictures.
Next, the deboarded passenger related that a few of the men gestured with imaginary guns as their fingers, indicating with their triggering action that they would shoot the people on the plane.
The flight crew declared an emergency and the plane returned to the concourse. The 12 men were taken to another area of the airport and questioned. It is my understanding that their luggage was removed and checked.
Then, ten of the men were allowed to get back on the plane. That’s when the 12-15 passengers decided that they wanted to get off that plane and take other flights. This ordeal had gone on approximately 2 hours to this point.
With much concern I was allowed to go down the jet way to the plane. There I encountered a man claiming that he was from Homeland Security to assess the situation. I related to the Homeland Security man about the claims of the photos and the shooting hand gestures related by the first man to exit the plane and I told him that I was a Senior Chaplain familiar with Critical Incident Response and would wait to help him should the passengers need my help. He said, “Thanks.”
The flight crew hurriedly walked past me leaving the plane with their baggage. The flight attendants were emotionally shaken, red faced, in tears and were sobbing. A new flight crew was ordered for the flight. All remaining passengers awaited their next crew, unsure of the ultimate destiny of this flight.
When I boarded the plane the air was tense and filled with emotion. Many of the passengers were obviously upset and at wits end. Often passengers would look back then forward to assess any change in the suspicious activities of the 10 hostile Middle Eastern passengers.
Although my seat was 22D I moved to the back of the plane to gain a better view of any actions that might take place in front of me. Some of the Middle Eastern men were in the Business Class area and the remainder was seated in the back of the plane.
They spoke only Arabic and I did not understand what they were saying although a strange burst of laughter would erupt as they spoke.
I struggled to see if these men were merely tragically toying with the emotions of the other American passengers or if they intended to do more. I calmed the new flight attendants and told them where I would be seated if they or any of the other passengers needed me.
I asked the flight attendant if she did or did not know whether we had an Air Marshal on the plane. She said that they were never told when one was on board. I prayed for the peace to handle whatever might happen on the flight but kept my eyes peeled forward for any suspicious movements.
One of the other passengers in mid-plane grew restless and began to show signs of rising agitation. He got up from his chair looked back and then to the front of the plane and paced back and forth between three to four rows.
I prayed that that he would not become violent with some of the men but then he quickly sat down and remained quiet until the end of the flight.
One hour into the flight thankfully nothing had happened.
The outer skin of Flight 297’s body must have radiated with prayers ascending into heaven from the passengers…and the one Chaplain at the back of the plane.
Each of the Middle Eastern men remained quiet but frequently went into the overhead compartments to retrieve what appeared to be electronic devices and other packages from their backpacks. I was thankful when the men in the back of the plane appeared to nod off into a harmless sleep.
One of the 10 men from Business Class came back to retrieve a box marked as a Mac Notebook. He brought it to the front of the plane and put it in third compartment on the left of the plane.
There must have been four or five airline pilots in uniform on board making connecting flights through Hobby Airport in Houston. One of the pilot passengers moved the Mac Notebook box to another overhead area without anyone observing the new distant hiding place for his package.
Rest @ link
Thanks! Now I understand why this is not “front page, above the fold” to use a quaint phrase.
When I see this story from an approved source, I’ll post it again in News.
;)
“If 12 New Yorkers got up and started singing in Yiddish and dancing in the aisles, what would we do?”
We’d pass the matzoh and the Mogen David wine and wish everyone Happy Hanukkah!
I still smell a coverup but here is an update.
http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/12/we-have-two-updates-on.html
That is THE question. I don’t know.
We are at risk because of PC. Period.
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