Posted on 08/18/2006 6:42:54 AM PDT by Kieri
Suspicious liquid found in former Mich. woman's luggage 8/18/2006, 6:13 a.m. ET By SHAYA TAYEFE MOHAJER The Associated Press
CEREDO, W.Va. (AP) — A woman whose daughter's carry-on luggage caused a West Virginia airport to shut down for 9 1/2 hours says it was her ethnic background, not a few bottles of suspicious liquids, that set off security officials.
Initial laboratory testing by the FBI turned up no evidence of explosive materials in the bottles carried at Tri-State Airport by Rima Qayyum, a 28-year-old Pakistani woman dressed in the traditional Islamic headcover.
No charges were filed against the woman, who was never detained and was cooperative when interviewed by the FBI.
Qayyum's mother, Mian Qayyum of Jackson, Mich., told The Associated Press that her daughter is four months pregnant, lives in Barboursville and is innocent. Her daughter had moved to West Virginia from Jackson.
"It was not only a false alarm, it was racial discrimination because there was nothing," Mian Qayyum said. "They should clear her name and apologize on national TV."
The FBI did not return messages Thursday night seeking comment on the allegations.
A screener noticed a bottle in Rima Qayyum's carry-on bag as she was going through security before her 9:15 a.m. flight Thursday to Charlotte, N.C., airport authority president Jim Booton said.
The terminal was evacuated at 11:25 a.m. after two bottles of liquid in the bag initially tested positive for explosives residue twice, and a canine team also got a positive hit. Chemical tests of the bottles' contents later turned up no explosives, said Capt. Jack Chambers, head of the State Police Special Operations unit.
The woman had purchased a one-way ticket to Detroit by way of Charlotte on Wednesday. The flight eventually left for Charlotte without her.
Rima Qayyum planned to return to the airport Friday to take another flight, her mother said.
Rima Qayyum planned to return to the airport Friday to take another flight, her mother said. The airport resumed normal operations Friday morning.
"She just had water to drink because she is pregnant and she had a face wash that had a drop of bleach on it," Mian Qayyum said.
U.S. authorities banned the carrying of liquids onto flights last week after British officials made arrests in an alleged plot to blow up U.S.-bound planes using explosives disguised as drinks and other common products.
The TSA screening looks for a range of explosives residue, some of which can be found on common household items, said TSA spokesman Darrin Kayser.
"Anytime a prohibited item is brought to a checkpoint, then you are going to be immediately more interested in that bag," Kayser said.
Two airlines — Comair and US Airways Express — serve the airport. Commercial airline service was suspended, and about 100 passengers and airport employees were ordered to leave the terminal, Booton said.
After the evacuation, many passengers decided to stay and wait it out.
"We bought them pizza, soft drinks ... tried to make them comfortable as could be in this situation," said Larry Salyers, the airport's manager. "We had them in the parking lot, under trees, in conference rooms, the firehouse."
___
Associated Press writer Kelley Schoonover contributed to this report.
One of the Heathrow bombers was reportedly using "baby formula" for the cover of the chemical the couple (trio actually, with small child).
This whole episode just don't pass the smell test. Why is Pakistan somehow always in the middle of these things?
Actually skin 'bleaches' (lighteners) are hydroquinine (suspended in a gel or ointment) NOT chlorine bleach.
Did they charge extra for that?
Uhh, I hope they stop the burkha-wearers.
After his exoneration, Jewell filed a series of lawsuits against the media outlets which he considered to have libelled him, primarily NBC News and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and insisted they should apologize to him.In Richard Jewell v. NBC, Jewell sued after Tom Brokaw said, "The speculation is that the FBI is close to making the case. They probably have enough to arrest him right now, probably enough to prosecute him, but you always want to have enough to convict him as well. There are still some holes in this case." Even though NBC stood by its story, it agreed to pay Jewell $500,000. (no apology)
In Richard Jewell v. New York Post, Jewell sued for libel for $15 million over a cartoon drawn by Sean Delonas.
In Richard Jewell v. Cox Enterprises (d.b.a. Atlanta Journal-Constitution), Jewell sued for libel. The newspaper, which was the only defendant who did not settle with Jewell, had stated Jewell was "an individual with a bizarre employment history and aberrant personality." It also said Jewell "fit the profile of a lone bomber." As of April 2005, the lawsuit remained pending, after having been considered at one time by the Georgia Supreme Court, and had become an important part of case law regarding whether journalists could be forced to reveal their sources.
Bleach???????????????????????She nuts??????????? Her face??????????????????????????????
Not to go on a tangent, but I find it incredible that the government is rushing to bring criminal charges to Catherine Mayo for being mentally unstable on a flight. There's a lot more to that story we're not hearing about.
Hydrogen peroxide is a bleach, not just clorox.
I think the question was "can an innocenct seeming female get away with carrying peroxide onto a plane?"
Islam and Marxism have this in common: they are both political and religious. To the Muslim, Allah is God and heaven is reached by fulfilling the five pillars of faith (and killing an infidel does wonders for one's resume). To the Marxist Man is God and Heaven is the paradise of the revolution (as it turns out, their "paradise" resembles hell more than heaven, which is yet another thing that they share with the Muslim).
Nazis supported a mythology of being the "chosen" master race.
And socialist agitators in this country certainly have a god complex and want to craft a uptopia in which they would rule.
Got a link for a new article?
I know that she was a Bush hating journalist also identified as a "peace activist" writing for something in Pakistan (with a web presence). And that a man she associated with there (as friend) was unable to travel with her because he is denied entry to the US.
We've found what she writes for. Anyone hit the archives for any relevant quotes?
This story has an update. Admin Moderator - if this merits a new thread, would you move it please? I thought it more of an update.
Suspicious liquids lead to closure of airport terminal; officials detain former Blackman Township woman
Friday, August 18, 2006
By Scott Hagen
shagen@citpat.com -- 768-4929
The mother of a former Blackman Township woman -- who was detained Thursday after two bottles she was carrying on to a flight tested positive for explosive residue -- wants her daughter's name cleared.
Samia Qayyum of Blackman Township said today that federal and airline agents wrongly detained her daughter as she attempted to board a flight to Detroit from the airport near Huntington, W.Va. Qayyum declined to give her daughter's name.
"We are a respectable and honorable family," Qayyum said. "She is a very good, decent girl. She's not only a good Muslim, she's a good American."
The 28-year-old daughter lived in Blackman Township for about six years before moving to Barboursville, W.Va., last September with her husband. The daughter, who is four-months pregnant, works as a substitute teacher and was on her way home to Blackman Township to visit family when she was stopped at the terminal.
Authorities found two bottles of liquid in her carry-on luggage that twice tested positive for explosive residue. Tests later that day turned up no explosives, said Capt. Jack Chambers, head of the State Police Special Operations unit.
The airport terminal was evacuated and shut down for nearly 10 hours.
Amy von Walter, a Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman, said there were four items containing liquids. A machine that security checkpoint screeners use to test for explosives registered positive results for two containers, and a canine team also got a positive hit, she said.
The TSA screening looks for a range of explosives residue, some of which can be found on common household items, said TSA spokesman Darrin Kayser.
"It was just a facewash, which had a splash of some chemical on there," Qayyum said. "Anything could have splashed on it. A drop of bleach cannot make a bomb."
No charges were filed against the woman, who was taken from the airport by federal authorities at 5 p.m., Salyers said.
Qayyum said her daughter was targeted because of her nationality and Islamic headcover.
The FBI did not immediately return messages Thursday night seeking comment on the racial profiling allegations.
U.S. authorities banned the carrying of liquids onto flights last week after British officials made arrests in an alleged plot to blow up U.S.-bound planes using explosives disguised as drinks and other common products.
The daughter was released late Thursday night and was scheduled to arrive back in Michigan today. How she'll get here is still in question.
"I told her they should put her on the next plane, but the more I think about it, I don't want to go through any more stress and I don't want to go through any more hassle," Samia said. "She's gone through enough already."
-- The Associated Press contributed to this report.
You are correct. I have been selected for 'additional screening' several times. Every time it happened, I had purchased my ticket the same day as the flight, it was a one way ticket, and I had no checked baggage. Apparently that's one of the profiles they are looking for.
That was my first thought!
Dang! Beat me by 2 hours and 47 minutes. ;-)
Oops - 17 minutes... can't tell time, either. :-)
Terrorist #1 pees on the airline carpet. Terrorist #2 pours bleach over it.
Result: poison gas cloud.
BINGO!
Here it is again- Mom knew there was "some chemical" splashed on the outside. It was this chemical that the swab test and canines alerted to. I am speculating, this is not fact, just opinion, that the mom and daughter know what the chemical was because they put it there. Just having a bottle of any liquid in carryon is suspicious enough because they warn you nine dozen times before getting in the line not to carry a liquid on the plane. Then to have a mere dash of "some chemical" that dogs alert on (dogs have opinions) and a chemical sniffer shows a red light for (machines do not have opinions), while the contents are innocent, spells probing to me.
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