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The Curious Case of Air Tran flight 297
The Marietta (Georgia) Daily Journal ^ | December 6, 2009 | Laura B. Armstrong

Posted on 12/06/2009 11:30:27 AM PST by campfollower

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 about what they say is a cover-up by AirTran and other transportation officials. This has been heating up since Tuesday, when one passenger's e-mail about the events he saw on the plane went viral, and the saga isn't over yet.

Initial media reports from Nov. 18 indicate the cause of the plane's turnaround was a single passenger who refused to turn off an electronic device. Some accounts said cell phone, some said video camera, but the bottom line is the flight crew felt something was amiss enough to turn around after they'd left the gate - no small occurrence.

In the now infamous e-mail (AirTran refers to it on their Web site www.inside airtran.com as "Flight 297 - Anatomy of an Urban Legend") a Texas man writes about an orchestrated attempt by a group of 13 men, which he characterizes as Muslim, to intimidate flight attendants and passengers.

His colorful description of the troublemakers boarding the plane, spreading out to their seats and then being uncooperative and verbally abusive toward flight attendants and other passengers hit my mailbox Tuesday, having been forwarded by the writer's friend, a former Marine and NASA employee, who also included his name, address and phone number.

Even as people scrambled to substantiate the e-mail, Muslim and leftist Web sites began characterizing the writer and anyone who thought it might have merit as "right wing racists." They immediately initiated a campaign to discredit and ridicule the writer, who actually had the audacity to speak boldly about the escalating fear and anger on the flight, though he admitted to me yesterday he'd taken artistic license with a couple points, never imagining it would travel beyond his circle of friends. He's not a journalist, and has no wish to become the next Joe the Plumber, he said.

His account, not intended for publication, focused on Arabic-speaking men using a number of tactics to upset the aircraft, such as taking photos of passengers, getting up and down from their seats at inappropriate times and intimidating others. The e-mail has, unfortunately, overshadowed the real story.

From AirTran, we know that the captain of Flight 297 felt it necessary to turn his plane around after leaving the gate. Once there the troublemakers were removed and questioned in what turned into a two-hour delay. And then, amazingly, all but two were allowed to reboard for the trip to Houston.

What ensued, according to the disputed e-mail as well as a new and highly credible eyewitness, was a small rebellion on board, with crew and at least a dozen passengers refusing to continue the flight.

Meanwhile, another Texas eyewitness, Dr. Keith Robinson, had been scheduled on the flight, but had missed his connection. He told his version of "the obvious commotion" at the gate, and added by phone he had offered his services as an ordained chaplain during the two-hour delay, but was rebuffed by AirTran officials.

"Gate agents expressed solemn concern" after the plane returned, he said, so he knew something was amiss. When the crew and a dozen passengers finally deplaned, some were openly sobbing and "anger and fear were etched on their faces."

Robinson, a good-natured man of God who formerly worked in restorative prosthodontics at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, eventually got on the plane.

"Chaplains are supposed to go where other people don't want to be," he explained. His account, also posted on the Internet, was written during the flight. He told me the Arabic-speaking men were quiet when he was on the flight, but that the tension was palpable. He believes the decision to allow the group back on the plane was based on fear of lawsuits.

"But is it inappropriate for Americans to stand together," he asked me, "draw a line in the sand and say this type of incident will not happen? Don't we have a duty to stand against this kind of intimidation?"

On Friday, AirTran spokesman Christopher White, formerly with the TSA, was snide and rude when I called to inquire about the incident. He refused to answer questions and referred me to the above-mentioned website, which is not an official statement from AirTran but a public rebuking of a customer's circulating e-mail. Note to Chris: putting a customer's writing on your site making him a target for death threats and ridicule seems rather irresponsible for a major airline. I hope someone reviews your qualifications as spokesperson.

Then, Saturday, AirTran went further, posting the assertion that the disputed e-mail writer from Texas, according to "legally binding" flight manifests, wasn't on the plane (just in case any of us believe the "urban legend" he supposedly made up out of thin air to get attention he isn't seeking,,, or something).

The e-mail writer told me today AirTran is lying and he has his boarding pass, but I'm beyond this by now, because I discovered another highly credible eyewitness to the incident was none other than Cobb businessman and security expert Brent C. Brown, CEO of Chesley-Brown International.

Brown, who is also chairman of the Marietta History Museum, confirmed late Saturday that he was on Flight 297 and that there was chaos on the plane. He believes the entire incident was mishandled by AirTran officials, though has kind words for the pilot, who he said, "was dead right" in his decision-making, and is to be commended for turning the plane around.

Seated in the third row in business class, he said it was obvious the suspicious men were interacting with each other and refusing to sit down, grounds for the pilot's decision.

Once back at the gate, however, Brown says there were no law enforcement officials visible (this contradicts the Texan's e-mail) and airline officials weren't talking to the passengers, who were openly upset and refusing to fly.

"The tension on board was incredible," Brown said. The men who came back on board after questioning were belligerent and smirking, and the people who got off, he confirmed, were traumatized.

So the story evolves. And in this age of jihadi Army officers and internet hoaxes, us regular folk continue to seek the truth.

Lbarmstrong3378@comcast.net


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: airlines; airtran; airtran297; airtranflight297; dryrun; flight297; islam; muslims; teddpetruna; terrorism; tsa; victimscam
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To: noxious swede
Petruna says he has his boarding pass, and a third credible witness has confirmed the incident.

The e-mail writer told me today AirTran is lying and he has his boarding pass, but I'm beyond this by now, because I discovered another highly credible eyewitness to the incident was none other than Cobb businessman and security expert Brent C. Brown, CEO of Chesley-Brown International.

21 posted on 12/06/2009 12:09:30 PM PST by Madame Dufarge
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To: campfollower

Many would say that on 9-11 America was brought to its knees by 19 thugs with box cutters and knives. Many would say the flight that crashed in Pennsylvania was the opening shot of the war on terror. Many would say that America is still on its knees to this day.

When I hear what Air Tran is doing all it does is show me that we haven’t learned a f-cking thing and our leadership is weak in all capacities. It takes Joe Average aka the Pilot and the passengers to stand up and out.

I want to hear from more passengers and lets get this story even more legs. I know if I saw this happen on the flight I was on I would be on Fox News every single day of the week until we found out who these guys were and why they were doing what they were doing.


22 posted on 12/06/2009 12:12:48 PM PST by My Favorite Headache
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To: ought-six
And they are headed for a smackdown of major proportions.

One of their biggest defenders is in the White House.

23 posted on 12/06/2009 12:13:09 PM PST by Recovering_Democrat
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To: Mad_Tom_Rackham

bttt


24 posted on 12/06/2009 12:13:24 PM PST by Guenevere (....)
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To: MizSterious

Imams removed from flight agree to settlement
October 21, 2009
http://www.startribune.com/local/65002357.html?elr=KArksD:aDyaEP:kD:aUq9_b9b_jEkP:QUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aU7DYaGEP7vDEh7P:DiUs


25 posted on 12/06/2009 12:16:32 PM PST by donna (Synonyms: Feminism, Marxism, Communism, Socialism, Fascism)
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To: ought-six

Time to play cowboys and muslims.
But for real.


26 posted on 12/06/2009 12:17:08 PM PST by Tahoe3002
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To: noxious swede

No, Air Tran claims the story of ONE guy was debunked. Other witnesses are coming forward, including (in case you missed it) security professionals who were on the flight. It would seem the truth lies somewhere short of passenger heroics as recounted in the e-mail, but the intimidating Muslim angle has been corroborated by unimpeachable sources. Don’t believe everything the airline PR guy tells you — take your own advice and stop being so gullible — not to mention your pre-9-11 mentality. The bottom line is, planes just don’t turn around without a reason, and if the troublemakers had been drunk sorority girls, they’d have been hauled off to jail.


27 posted on 12/06/2009 12:17:11 PM PST by campfollower (Eagles Up! Thank you to the Vietnam vets and others standing for freedom in D.C. today)
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To: noxious swede

Your 3rd post. Also the 3rd post which in some way relates to Islam, and how stupid and bigoted Americans are.


28 posted on 12/06/2009 12:21:39 PM PST by PghBaldy (James Earl Ray was just stressed when he killed Martin Luther King Jr.)
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To: Landru

Ping, part 3.


29 posted on 12/06/2009 12:21:54 PM PST by TheConservativeParty (Take back the GOP-RNC. Apply RINO-B-GONE as needed.)
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To: noxious swede
"Since Nov 12, 2008" --

and only *three* posts in over a year?

The Curious Case of Air Tran flight 297

Sun Dec 6 14:04:39 2009 · 17 of 29
noxious swede to campfollower

Good grief. Why do you think the magical “terrorists” were allowed to reboard and travel? This whole thing has been debunked — the Petruna fellow was not even on the plane. How gullible can people be?


30 posted on 12/06/2009 12:24:29 PM PST by grey_whiskers (The opinions are solely those of the author and are subject to change without notice.)
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To: Tahoe3002

Man, I wanted to post that. Congrats for getting it in first.


31 posted on 12/06/2009 12:25:18 PM PST by Pusterfuss (I will give your president the same respect you gave mine.)
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To: ought-six

I pray that you’re right with all my heart. How much more will Americans take from these destructive invaders?


32 posted on 12/06/2009 12:26:48 PM PST by mrsmel
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To: noxious swede

You are the one who is gullible.

The real question for you is how many more Swedish women and girls have to be raped and killed by Muslims before Sweden wake up?


33 posted on 12/06/2009 12:30:05 PM PST by eleni121 (For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline)
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To: noxious swede
You've been here a year and this is your third post...ever. And your postings reveal a bit of troll in you.

Swede, eh? Yeah, you sound like you're in occupied Malmo.

34 posted on 12/06/2009 12:30:22 PM PST by buccaneer81 (ECOMCON)
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To: buccaneer81

Good point.


35 posted on 12/06/2009 12:31:12 PM PST by mrsmel
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To: campfollower
This is complete and total BS. It is the classic case of an internet-driven rumor.

The person who started it all by claiming he witnessed the so-called Muslims was still on another delayed flight 22 minutes from landing at Atlanta when the incident happened. he was angry at Airtran for not holding the flight, so made up the story of the so-called Muslims. Manifests and ATC records prove tis.

Many other so-called witnesses, quoted by the Internet websites, say in their written statements that they DID NOT witness the incident, only heard about it from others.

I will post more on this later, in an article about how we are degraded when we repeat and believe this stuff, but here are the real basics.

The flight had a number of foreign language-speaking passengers. They were NOT Muslims. Despite repeated requests from the stews, in English and a lot of “pointy-talky” one passenger would not turn off a video game as required by the FARs. The stew told the pilot, who was then forbidden by FARs to takeoff, just like they would be if a passenger was smoking or not wearing their seat belt.

They returned to the gate. Problem was resolved when they found a translator. This is not unusual. Happens about 20-50 times a week somewhere in US because of language problems, drunk or sick passengers, etc. Delayed passenger who made up story was now REALLY pi**ed because AirTran would not remove the standby passenger who had been boarded when he was a no show because of his delayed inbound flight.

TV and radio stations in Houston have interviewed dozens who were all aboard flight, including three local Texas cops and about a dozen US military. None of the Muslim stuff occurred.

It's all the guy who was POed at AirTran, who will not be interviewed, and has now hired a lawyer to defend himself.

This has been discussed at length elsewhere, and we are simply getting sucked in of we repeat it.

Don't be a victim of Internet BS. There are too many real Obama stories out there!

36 posted on 12/06/2009 12:31:38 PM PST by MindBender26 (Never kick Dems when they're down. Wait 'till they're 1/2 way back up. You get much better leverage!)
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To: MindBender26

Let’s see links to your sources.


37 posted on 12/06/2009 12:33:39 PM PST by buccaneer81 (ECOMCON)
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To: noxious swede

“Wasn’t even on the plane”

Read up and get educated.

http://www.debbieschussel.com

http://www.gillreport.com/dn_archive.php

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 Falafel Hut.”
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 a report that was mostly
redacted (because if it’s redacted, it didn’t happen, right?).

As I told you, prominent Tennessee-based radio talk show host, Steve
Gill, conducted a lengthy, in-depth interview with Dr. Robinson, who
confirmed everything Mr. Petruna wrote in his e-mail about what
happened on that flight. Reader H.O. transcribed Steve’s interview,
which I’d like you to read. Steve gave me permission to post that
transcription here. Steve is no lightweight or fringe conspiracy
theorist. He’s a major talk radio host in the South (as well as an
attorney, professor, and former White House fellow) and asks the tough
questions. And his show is nationally syndicated on radio stations
across the country.

Radio Talk Show Host Steve Gill Interviews AirTran Flight 297
Passenger Chaplain Dr. Keith A. Robinson:

Steve Gill “. . .Middle Eastern men that were on the plane and that,
as they had pulled back from the jetway to taxi to the airport or to
the runway. . .that uh, he said two had gotten up and were taking
pictures with their cell phones of the other passengers on-in that
area. This is while the plane is taxi-ing on the runway. That’s what
he said, yes.

Ok, hang on. We are going to talk more. Keith Robinson was there. He’s
relating more of what happened on Flight 297. Air Tran says oh, no.
Nothing happened. It was just a misunderstanding. One guy just didn’t
shut off his cell phone. Keith Robinson was there, he’s going to give
us more of the scoop that the main stream media seems to be ignoring.
Well, maybe some of them are starting to catch on. We’ll follow up
with Keith Robinson with more on the Steve Gill Show in just a moment.

break

Steve Gill: Hey, welcome back again, this is the Steve Gill Show. An
incident occured on Air Tran Flight 297 on November 17th on a flight
from Atlanta to Houston TX. A Tedd Petruna who works for the National
bouancy lab in Houston Tx for NASA accounted for what happened and
what he saw on that flight. It has now gone viral all over the
internet and despite the fact that AirTran and others that are trying
to cleanse the story including the msm are saying that an anonymous
e-mail has spread a false rumor. Well, it’s anonymous.

Tedd Petruna is a real guy. I talked to him myself yesterday for quite
some time. He has confirmed that everything that he wrote in his
e-mail is what he saw. Other passengers are starting to confirm what
they saw and experienced It will be interesting to see whether the
flight crew will step forward or whether they are being threatened by
Air Tran Airlines with their jobs to keep them silent. Another guy who
was there, who saw what happened as it happened is Dr. Keith Robinson,
a health media consultant and communications specialist, critical
incidents response chaplain and he’s relating the story to us here on
the Steve Gill show.

Now, Keith, you are telling us that basically as these men were acting
up on this, in this group of eleven or twelve people, did anybody tell
you who they were, where they were going, what, where they were from?
Any of that information come to light, by the way?

Robinson: No, no. There was only, they only spoke Arabic. And uh, so I
didn’t understand what they were saying once I came on board, but the
people. . .

Steve Gill: they were continuing to talk. One of the things I wanted
to get to is that basically the passengers were telling you they were
doing gestures like they were going to shoot people, they were
refusing to sit down as the plane was taxi-ing to the runway. You
don’t do that on any plane anywhere! This business that ‘I didn’t
understand ‘ is a bunch of crock!

Robinson: Well, it’s true that the uh, these are abnormal actions that
anybody should be making. I mean, we’ve had ministers wives thrown off
planes for less than that. Um, so

Steve Gill: Exactly. Christian minister’s wives.

Robinson: Yes, yes.

Steve Gill: So the folks at AirTran are saying that Homeland Security
was never involved and that you talked to a man who was supposedly
there claiming to be from Homeland Security flashing a badge, claiming
that he was there to assess the situation.

Robinson: That’s correct. As I went down the jetway, I met him and
relayed to him what the gentlemen had just told me. And he said, well,
I’m Homeland Security, that’s my job here. So, I said, well, I’m a
chaplain with the international fellowship of chaplains and this is
what we do. So, if I need to help you, let me know. I went ahead and
boarded the plane and the new flight crew was on the plane. I’m not
sure they were fully briefed as to what they were walking into.

Steve Gill: Now it’s not just that one stewardess left the plane, the
entire flight crew that experienced these eleven to twelve muslim men,
the entire flight crew said we’re outta here. We’re not flying. And
about twelve passengers including Tedd Petruna also got off the plane.

Robinson: That’s correct. That’s correct.

Steve Gill: The people that stayed on and there were what, about sixty
folks or so?

Robinson: It looked like there may have been that many. There was only
one person that, other than some pilots that were going to make
connections probably in other, in Houston, um, had boarded and they
sat up towards the front. The only other person that boarded that I
saw, was me. And uh, the fella warned me, that I had spoken to, he
said, ‘you’re not getting on that plane, are you?’ And I said, well,
yes. He said, ‘how come? These guys are doing this stuff?’ And I said,
well that’s where chaplains are supposed to be. You know, if they’re
upset then, that upset about it, the folks left on that plane are
pretty upset too.

Steve Gill: Do you know if that guy you were talking to was Tedd
Petruna or another passenger?

Robinson: No. This was another gentleman. This was the first guy that
tried to get off the plane and uh, so I continued down. I told the
flight attendants I’ll be in the middle of the plane if you need me.
If there’s anybody that’s getting close to breaking or something,
bring them to me and we’ll go sit and talk and we’ll work through
this. And they were pretty concerned already. The flight attendants
that got off were sobbing, their faces were red, they were obviously
stressed. They could not have flown. They could not have served us.
They couldn’t take care of themselves at that point in time. They were
so stressed.

Steve Gill: At this point the men were continuing to laugh and behave
in kind of a strange way as this continued. Keith, I want you to hang
on a second as we take a quick break. There’s more to this story and
folks – it gets worse! We’re back in a moment with Keith Robinson who
was on flight 297.

break

Steve Gill: Welcome back, this is the Steve Gill Show live at the
Opryland Gaylord Resort Convention Center in Nashville. I’ll talk a
lot about Christmas today, but I’ll also talk about a disturbing
incident aboard an AirTran flight, flight 297 Atlanta to Houston on
the afternoon of November 17th. Tedd Petruna, a passenger on that
flight has shared what happend in an e-mail that has gone viral. I’ve
got that e-mail linked up on our website. We talked with Tedd Petruna
personally, myself last night for about 45 minutes and he verifies
that everything he had written in his account is exactly accurate and
true.

Another passenger who got on that flight after eleven muslim men were
brought off and then put back on, twelve passengers including the
flight crew, or not including the flight crew decided to get off that
flight because of the bizzare behavior of a group of muslim men
claiming that they didn’t speak any english and therefore didn’t
understand you and couldn’t just walk around the plane while it’s
taxi-ing. . . couldn’t continue to use their cell phones and other
electronic devices while the plane was taxi-ing while they were being
told to put them away by flight attendants. . .that dancing, taking
pictures of their fellow passengers and uh, acting, according to some
accounts, like they were shooting some of the passengers with guns.
Basically doing everything they could to attack and traumatise and
terrorize those on the plane.

AirTran has cleansed the account of the story as has the main stream
media, but the truth is starting to come out. And one of those telling
us the truth is Dr. Keith Robinson, a health media consultant,
communications specialist, a critical incident response chaplain who
was aboard the flight as it made it’s way from Atlanta to Houston
after a two and a half hour delay because of the guys supposedly not
turning off his cell phone.

I would point out, my understanding, Keith, is that AirTran is kind of
like Southwest Airlines, you get (??) seating, you sit wherever you
want. And when this group of eleven men got on the plane initially,
they put themselves throughout the plane and according to Tedd
Petruna’s account, at one point, one of the guys in the very front of
the plane called one of the guys in the middle of the plane on his
cell phone and they were having conversations. Again, they didn’t sit
as a group, they spread out through the plane, just like the 9/11
hi-jackers had done.

Robinson: Yeah, there was a group that was in the front of the
airplane and then another group that was towards the back of the
airplane and I tried to, as soon as I saw this starting, I took out my
laptop and began to write what you have seen.

Steve Gill: Yeah, I’ve got that linked up on our website by the way.
Keith Robinson’s account at GillReport.com click on the Daily Notes
button. It’s there along with Tedd Petruna’s e-mail account. You can
read all the details there and you were literally writing this as it
happend, right Keith?

Robinson: That’s correct. That’s uh, years ago, I had my own
nationally syndicated radio talk show and so I knew that I could
forget things very quickly if I didn’t start writing it down and
perceiving what was going on . And most of the people, when most of
these men had gone into a stoic kind of um, appearance. They had
already been taken off. Somebody had talked to them. Their luggage had
been gone through and put them back on. And, but as I entered the
plane, it was, you could feel the tension that everyone in the plane.
You could, nobody would make eye contact. Eyes were down, The biggest
active part of this, went on before I got on.

Steve Gill: And yet, even as the flight continued with you, you report
that they would suddenly start speaking loudly in Arabic and then a
burst of laughter would erupt and they would still, you thought be
toying with the emotions of the people aboard the flight.

Robinson: Well, yeah, they would get up in the overhead compartments
and pull down backpacks and pull out, you know, things that may have
been recorders or something like that. It looked like an electronic
device, You see . . .

Steve Gill: And moving things around. Moving things from one part of
the plane, moving it up to the luggage compartment in the front of the
plane inexplicably – for no good reason.

Robinson: Well, and that’s true. You see, one of the things that just
happened beforehand was Fort Hood. So, a lot of Americans, most of
America, probably are still on edge about the fact that the shooting
went on there. So many people were already on edge. Now, whenever,
when I got on I tried to assess, as I was walking down the aisle, how
people were doing. And there was one or two people who started
showing, you know, a little agitation, getting up walking back and
forth during the flight. But they eventually settled down, sat down
and I um, went to the back of the plane so that I could watch what was
going on in front of us in case we needed to do something. There was a
lot of prayer going on in the back of that plane. Let me let you know
that . . .

Steve Gill: Yes, you pointed that out in your piece, it was radiating
inside and outside of the plane. Has anybody from AirTran or Homeland
Security, did they conduct an investigation. You guys got to Houston,
everybody apparently went their own way. Any follow up investigation?
Did you talk to anybody? Did anybody ask you any questions about this?

Robinson: No. Not a bit. Not a bit.

Steve Gill: So this claim that AirTran did an investigation is first
of all an outright lie if they don’t talk to the passengers that were
on that plane.

Robinson: Well, it certainly raises questions as to how that
investigation was done. I’m concerned though, that the people that
went through this event, see if they go through a perceived life
threatening event, may develop post traumatic stress, that could be a
post traumatic stress disorder after a certain time and I would think
that the airline would want to follow these people. Because if they
develop this, then, you know, it points back to the event itself.

Steve Gill: Now, so far, Petruna’s e-mail got this ball rolling. Your
piece is now getting some attention. I know there has been intense
media attention, I mean, Tedd’s getting e-mails and phone calls like
no-body’s business because his actual work information has put him at
risk of losing his job at NASA. They’ve pretty much told him to shut
up or he’s going to get fired because of telling the truth about this
incident. I mean, obviously you’re getting contacted by other media
outlets likeme and others. Have you heard from any other passengers?
Arer other passengers going to speak up? Do we know anything about the
flight crew?

Robinson: I have not heard a thing from anyone else. I have received
e-mails and spoken to other pilots that, asking if this was true,
trying to check the credibility of the people writing this and in
relating some of their own concerns that they’ve seen also. This
appears to be

Steve Gill: The problem is this looks like one of those e-mails that
gets distributed, you know, anonymously, and don’t know whether it’s
true and that’s how AirTran is trying to say ‘an anonymous e-mail
account’. No, Tedd Petruna’s a real guy. His name is on it. Your name
is on it. You are willing to talk about it. The media is just no
focusing on getting the truth about it.

Robinson: Well, I believe that may be changing and we may be able to
thank your organization for opening up and getting it out there
because they have got to do something with it. America has got to
figure out how they are going to deal with this type of what I’m
calling “ethnic bullying’. It’s uh, we are we are still in a 9-12
mentality and we should be. We should be at a condition yellow so that
we are aware of what is going on around us. But the question is how do
we as Americans stand together to not let people think that we’re
scared – first – because I think that if we let them know that we are
scared we invite this stuff.

Steve Gill: That’s part of what’s happening. AirTran had an incident
where they took nine muslims off a plane January 1st. they got
castigated by the Council on American Islamic Relations, they got
attacked, they were threatened with law suits. The same thing with the
six muslim imams who were behaving strangely in Minnesota. They ended
up suing their fellow passengers, suing the airport authority, suing
the airline. They’ve been cowed into silence in the same way that
Major Hasan was able to proceed with nobody able to do anything
despite all the red flags – because they didn’t want to look like a
bigot. And that’s what we have playing out here as well.

Robinson: Well, and it’s important that we focus our attention on the
people that are doing this and not – because I’ve seen many wonderful
muslim people and middle easterners. There are many very good ones.
And a few that are radicalized are really giving a lot of problems to
everybody else. But I think even they are scared to bring this up
because you’d think they’d say, ‘hey, stop doing that! You’re giving
our whole religion a bad name!’

Steve Gill: Yeah, ignoring the risks, doesn’t make us any safer. You
know, obviously, you’re willing to speak out. Are you going to be
doing more appearances? I mean Fox News, those kinds of guys? Have you
talked to them yet?

Robinson: I have spoken to them. I just got off . . the initial story
was done by KHOUTV channel 2I here in Houston. They spoke to me just
before I went on the air with you and want to do an interview to kind
of get the rest of the story. And so, they are going to revisit this
as well. And I think that’s good journalism. I think that’s good
journalism to go back into it and say gosh, maybe we didn’t get
everything we needed to.

Steve Gill: Especially because the initial story was based on what the
AirTran spokesman said and that’s basically that they, you know, they
had a guy that didn’t shut off his cell phone and it caused a two and
a half hour delay. I mean, that’s pretty much the sanitised version
and that is far from what actually happened on this flight. And they
also don’t identify the group, they mention that there was a group of
men, you know, everybody kind of, in the media goes ‘I wonder if they
were Arab men?” ‘I wonder if they were muslim men?’ Well, the answer
is YES, they were.

Robinson: THere’s one difference that I observed and that is in
Tedd’s, what he wrote, he eluded to the fact that they were in
traditional garb. I didn’t see that. I saw, you know, the guys were
wearing slacks and shirt like we would wear. And um, so you know, I
did not see them overtly dressed so thtat you could tell. Their skin
color, the way that they talked is the way they gave away where they
were from. But uh, everything else that Tedd said rings, rings very
true.

Steve Gill: I know that yesterday, after we detailed this story, we
got several calls from airline commercial pilots saying they are not
seeing the size of this group but they see similar instances where,
you know, two or three muslim men, Arab men doing what appear to be a
test probe or a test run. They’re being told by the airlines, we’re
being told by the authorities, don’t talk about it, you know, shut up
about it. That’s what you’re hearing. I understand that’s what Tedd
has heard about it from other pilots as well. That this is not an
isolated incident.

Robinson: Well, it doesn’t seem to be. I guess the thing, that as a
chaplain, the thing that it tells me to do is that we need to first –
we don’t want to live in fear. We are, our forefathers fought and bled
in order for us to have the freedoms that we’ve got. What I see is
that the people feel like we are tearing chunks of America away and
we’re giving it away. That it’s not the same America. And that it can
be the same America if we, as the citizens of this America start
saying, look, this is our place. These are the things that we do and
we are going to stand together.

So I think we’ve still got great strength if we go inside and we
remember where we came from. We remember we’ve still got God working
with us. You know, a lot of us pushed him out of the schools, pushed
him out of our lives. He’s still back there, still working. I see
miracles all the time in my work as a chaplain. We still got much to
draw upon for our strength. We just cannot live in fear. You know,
bullying, whether it happens on a playground or whether it happens in
the home of a domestic violence case, living under a repression is
worse than death. It’s worse than death. This is not the worst thing
that can happen to you. But it’s time that we remember our heritage.
Remember . . .

Steve Gill: Remember and stand up and speak out. Dr. Keith Robison, a
media health consultant, communications specialist, critical incidents
response chaplain – his account of what happened on AirTran Flight 297
is at Gill Report dot com. Click on the daily notes button and scroll
right down and read his account. Tedd Petruna, another of the
passengers on that flight. If you’ve gotten the e-mail, if you’ve seen
it and wondered if this is true.

Uh, YEAH, yeah, it is true. We’ve dug into this story. I’ve talked to
Tedd Petruna, you’ve heard it from Keith Robinson, others will maybe
come forth. Maybe the pilot, maybe the crew, maybe some of the other
passengers will finally come forth and share their stories as well.
Thanks for being with us and keep spreading the word. Keep spreading
the Gospel, my friends. You betcha. God bless you. 800-688-9522.

You can also send your comments via e-mail Steve@gillreport.com Why is
the mainstream media sanitizing this story. Why is TSA, AirTran, why
are they covering up the truth if nothing really happend on flight
297?
We’re back in a moment. I’m Steve Gill. News Radio 1510 WLAC

break

Steve Gill: Hey welcome, this is the Steve Gill Show 800-688-9522. You
can also send your comments in via e-mail Steve@gillreport.com

I know hearing that account of that flight, AirTran Flight 297 you’re
going, nah, surely not! How can they cover this stuff up? Well, that’s
why we wanted to let you hear the voices of those who were there that
can say this is what I saw, rather than the cleansed government
version of what happened. Then go to our report at the GillReport.com,
find the daily notes button. It’s the top story.

You’ve got the account of Tedd Petruna who was on the plane. You’ve
read his account. There’s Keith Robinson. His account is also
available to you here:

http://espositosmusings.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/air-tran-flight-297-incident1.pdf

And uh, I’ve got to tell you, I’m hearing from pilots, I’m hearing
from other folks, passengers on planes that are seeing these same sort
of dry run, test terrorism cases perhaps that are happening. If you
see something strange – SPEAK UP.


38 posted on 12/06/2009 12:35:16 PM PST by cycle of discernment
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To: campfollower

The sleeper POTUS, the soldier of allah, Barack Hussein Osama has emboldened these dead enders. More terrorist attacks fits in with his agenda. It’s a distraction from his outright communist takeover of America and it will allow the federal gubbermint more control over everybody’s lives. Not the terrorists, just the law abiding citizens.


39 posted on 12/06/2009 12:39:30 PM PST by Electric Graffiti (Yonder stands your orphan with his gun)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Recovering_Democrat

yup, yup!!!


40 posted on 12/06/2009 12:42:25 PM PST by ronniesgal (Merry Christmas early,)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 23 | View Replies]


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