Posted on 12/04/2009 6:04:17 PM PST by Oshkalaboomboom
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 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. In a matter of days, Petruna's account appeared in chat rooms, blogs and conspiracy theorists' Web sites.
The AJC was forwarded the e-mail dozens of times this week, as readers saw Petruna's tale and noticed conflicting information between it and earlier news reports of the flight delay Nov. 17.
Many of those who forwarded the message to the AJC added accusatory comments suggesting the paper was participating in a politically correct cover-up. The AJC made several attempts to speak to Petruna about the incident. He has declined throughout the week to respond to repeated e-mail and phone attempts by the AJC to talk to him.
Additionally, interviews between the AJC and people on the plane, airline officials and federal agencies did not corroborate his story of what occurred on the flight.
According to AirTran, shortly after 4:40 p.m. on Nov. 17, Flight 297 bound for Houston taxied toward the runway of Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. But before the Boeing 717 made it to the runway, the pilot made the decision to return the plane to the gate. A flight attendant asked a male passenger twice to put away a cell phone or camera.
At the gate, the passenger -- who didn't speak English -- and a companion were asked to leave the plane, which they did without incident, the airline reported.
When it was determined the problem was caused by a language barrier, AirTran and TSA officials allowed the man, and 12 others traveling with him to re-board, and the flight left for Houston a little more than two hours later. Later, officials said the entire incident was the result of a miscommunication.
Nancy Deveikis was seated in seat 29A aboard Flight 297, directly behind an unidentified man who she believes spoke Spanish. Deveikis said the man was looking at pictures on a camera, and did not understand a flight attendant's requests to turn the device off.
Petruna's account of the flight was drastically different. It was forwarded to others by a man named A. Gene Hackemack, who vouched for him as a former NASA colleague. Petruna claimed he witnessed a incident involving Middle Eastern passengers on the flight, and attempted to stop the incident from escalating.
"I grabbed the man who had been on the phone by the arm and said ‘you will go sit down or you will be thrown from this plane,' " Petruna wrote. Continuing, Petruna said 11 men dressed in "full attire" got on the plane together.
Hackemack, when reached by telephone earlier this week at his Texas home, stood by the story, and gave the AJC a home phone number for Petruna.
"Thank God for people like Tedd Petruna," wrote Hackemack in the e-mail he forwarded.
But there was no way Petruna could have seen what he described on Flight 297, AirTran said in a statment. Petruna departed from Akron-Canton, Ohio, on AirTran Flight 205 on Nov. 17, officials said. He was supposed to connect to Flight 297 to head home to Houston, but he missed his first flight out of Ohio. And therefore, he missed the connecting flight.
"Flight 297, the flight which Mr. Patruna allegedly wrote a first-hand account of, originally pushed back from its gate in Atlanta at 4:40 p.m. EST, a full 26 minutes before flight 205 arrived at the gate in Atlanta making this flight connection impossible," according to AirTran.
So who are you going to believe? The TSA or the e-mailer’s lying eyes and fingers?
Paging Debbie Schlussel, please pick up the white phone.
“No big surprise, this sounded like a crock from the getgo.”
Yea, but it’s always good to remind people to be aware of their surroundings and know who to look out for. You can never be too careful in this dangerous world.
(that’s how the libs would explain it away if it went against them)
He said he did not take the flight in protest. Is this “manifest” a list of people who actually flew, or a list of people who were supposed to fly?
That is a really good question.
He DID say he refused to take the flight. So he wouldn’t be on the list.
He needs to produce his e-ticket. It’s more than BO would do.
“Is this “manifest” a list of people who actually flew, or a list of people who were supposed to fly?”
BINGO!
OOOOPPPPSSSS! Never believe anything that is forwarded in emails 99.9% of it is BS!
“Is this “manifest” a list of people who actually flew, or a list of people who were supposed to fly?”
BINGO!
P.S. If the MANIFEST included those who were supposed to fly as well as those who actually flew, it would contain a lot of spurious, non-germain data. IMHO
Good points raised down thread and I am open to additional proof -
But claiming that AirTran had a replacement flight crew in 5 minutes just didn’t pass my smell test.
I’ve waited many a time for a new flight crew and it was always 2+ hours.
From the article:
But there was no way Petruna could have seen what he described on Flight 297, AirTran said in a statment. Petruna departed from Akron-Canton, Ohio, on AirTran Flight 205 on Nov. 17, officials said. He was supposed to connect to Flight 297 to head home to Houston, but he missed his first flight out of Ohio. And therefore, he missed the connecting flight.
"Flight 297, the flight which Mr. Patruna allegedly wrote a first-hand account of, originally pushed back from its gate in Atlanta at 4:40 p.m. EST, a full 26 minutes before flight 205 arrived at the gate in Atlanta making this flight connection impossible," according to AirTran.
Sure. Must have been an Amish entourage.
No way I'll take the word of the TSA or any airline. Their only concern is being PC.
I also suggest you look at the statement of the Chaplain, Keith A. Robinson from Houston. He provides personal contact information. Give him a call if you don't believe it.
then why are there 2 persons telling this story about this flight?
Chaplain, Keith A. Robinson from Houston.
Oooops
Guess I should read the article, huh?
Yeah, I read the original accounts from a local newspaper and the commenters pretty effectively debunked the thing. The clincher was that records show that the flight was not cancelled but did depart -- albeit several hours late.
I'm a sucker for these sorts of stories, but it is important to pay attention to the facts as they come out.
Class Dates & Times: Nov 30 – Dec 4, 2009 Monday - Friday 8AM - 5PM Location: Chapelwood United Methodist 11140 Greenbay Houston TX 77024 Local Contact: Chaplain Dr. Keith Robinson 713 826 3220 Pre-registration Deadline Novemeber 15, 2009 Print And Mail Registration Form Online Registration
Read posts 14-16 and post 19.
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