Posted on 12/10/2005 5:03:13 PM PST by WatchingInAmazement
A suspect is in federal custody after passengers say he threatened an infant and tried to charge the cockpit of an airplane en route to Honolulu. No air marshal was aboard, but seven passengers tackled and subdued him.
Passengers say the man's strange behavior started just a couple hours after Northwest Flight 91 took off from Los Angeles.
"He came up to first class several times, and at one point he really startled me... He came up to my left shoulder, and he got right in my face and he said something in Spanish -- he said something about medicine, like 'I need medicine,'" said passenger Linda Deckard from California.
She says the man even gestured threats toward a baby with a cell phone cord, and couldn't sit still. But thanks to one father's planning, a group of passengers are heroes to nearly 200 people on the flight.
"We got the word around first class that if he makes a move for the cockpit door, he's going down," said passenger Mike Deckard. "And that's just what happened. He made a move for the cockpit door and we were on top of him."
He and six others bound the suspect's hands and feet with a belt and cords from an on-board restraint pack.
"I think he's a hero," says Michael Deckard, age 13, about his dad. "I think he did a good job. Obviously he's watching a little bit of football with that tackle. Go dad!"
"If anybody's wants to try something, remember - there are 200 other people on the aircraft who are gonna stop you," Mike Deckard said.
The suspect is a 37-year-old Mexican national. He bit one man who helped tackle him -- a Honolulu Marathon runner who had to get a tetanus shot when they landed.
Passengers were questioned for a couple of hours after landing. The suspect is being held at the federal detention center.
The fact remains that there were a couple of hours involved. Male genitalia most certainly could become irreparably damaged, if not totally removed from the suspect with the basic accouterments at an airline passenger's disposal. The prominent mention of the lack of air Marshall presence is telling. It is now a tough choice. Freak out and get shot dead if there are Feds, or freak out and get severely hurt if there are no Feds. Harsh decision either way on the part of the aggressor. And I travel a lot.
"If anybody's wants to try something, remember - there are 200 other people on the aircraft who are gonna stop you," Mike Deckard said."
Oh yea! I like this guy.
Probably by snarling and waving his hands at the baby as if he was going to strangle it.
Of course, if it'd been my child and I'd seen it, he be taking his meals through a straw for the next 18 months.
37 year old illegal Mexican nominated to U.S. Border Commissioner post by President Bush.................. Wild passenger gets help from Hollywood elites.........New movie and book deal for Mexican wacko.............Young Mexican boys say they want to be just like him...........
You would be amazed. Not to delve into details, it is obvious that strategic placement of a beverage cart is now deemed heightened security measures. No sh!t.
It was on the front page of the Honolulu Star today.
Simple ,Dont be an aggressor.
I have one question. The last time someone freaked out on an aircraft and had to be subdued, all the passengers had to do a perp walk, complete with hands on their heads, for the news cameras. Were these passengers required to do the same thing?
In the another article it said he told the flight attendant he wanted to kill the baby (who was sleeping). Scary.
Screw PC when your life might be on the line. Prudent planning to check your surroundings and be cautious. And to have a plan ready in your mind and be ready to take the lead, civilians with no military training sometimes need to be prodded, but once they get going, they have a great track record. Americans We!
Enough and enough of this nonsense.
Pee on a drinks cart? Get shot!
Threaten the stewardess? Get shot!
Make a scene cause you "lost" your meds? Get Shot!
Society does not have to tolerate jerk o**s that can't conform to public safety requirements.
Absolutely. Yet I know the location of every fire extinguisher, flashlight, life raft, and Defrib device on each aircraft that I board. This does not mean that I am an aggressor. Yet I will be compelled to perform a rectal insertion of 23 pounds of class ABC fire suppression for any nitwit that attempts a takeover on an aircraft that I am on. Not to go into the fun and excitement of an Auto Defrib Device on any aggressor. Your mileage and results may vary substantially.
Illegal mexicans cross the rio grande, not the pacific ocean, and they certainly don't hop planes to go down to Hawaii.
PERP: "ga ga, ga ga, gurgle, gurgle"
TRANSLATION: "Give me your diaper, or else!"
"Yet I will be compelled to perform a rectal insertion of 23 pounds of class ABC fire suppression for any nitwit that attempts a takeover on an aircraft that I am on."
Not Fair......the resulting pucker factor is outlawed by the Geneva Convention! ( Grin).
It is also possible some of the Tangos might actually like it, so be forwarned!
With the attitude and level of (in)tolerance we have toward potential trouble makers on board flights, I am wondering WHAT IF a Sep 11 like attempt were to take place today. Lets say the same gang of 19 ( Atta et-al, Marwan Al-Shahhi et al, etc) armed with the same box cutters and the same level of physical skill were to attempt something similar, would the passengers be able to take them on and overpower them? I know they nearly did on United 93 but there was one fewer hijacker. This is assuming there are no armed air marshals on board. Are the passengers' determination enough ?
Great photo of Kerry! How can this man seriously think himself presidential material?
Seriousness aside, but could someone find that pic of the line to slap that hysterical passenger in movie Airplane.
Yes. Unequivocally.
"The General Militia of Northwest Flight 91 reporting for duty, SIR!"
The era when anyone could successfully take over an American airliner loaded with Americans was when the General Militia of United Flight 93 reported for duty.
Do something stupid on or around a plane these days, you get exactly what you deserve. Social darwinism in action - *finally*.
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