Posted on 12/06/2009 8:36:55 PM PST by STARWISE
Why is AirTran lying about its passengers? And why would you believe the company that refuses to answer important questions or release documents to back up their claims?
The airline may face a lawsuit, which will finally uncover the proof that a dry run was conducted by 11 Muslim men, and it tried to force passengers to fly with them, anyway.
As readers know, on Thursday, I posted an e-mail written by Tedd J. Petruna, a NASA employee who was on AirTran Flight 297 from Atlanta to Houston on November 17th of this year.
He recounted in the e-mail–which he never intended to go public all around the internet–how 11 Middle Eastern men, likely Muslims, conducted what appeared to be a dry run. He wrote the e-mail to dispute the lie AirTran told the press that the flight was canceled because a man refused to stop talking on his cell phone. AirTran, by the way, has never released the name of that man.
And now, the long knives of AirTran public relations have come out. AirTran told the Atlanta Urinal-Constipation, er . . . Journal-Constitution that Petruna was not on the flight (well, at least in this case, there’s no constipation, as the paper is full of crap). And instantly, everyone believes AirTran, without seeing the official passenger manifest or any documentation whatsoever. Everyone, except me and most of my readers (not the trolls who are now commenting).
(Excerpt) Read more at debbieschlussel.com ...
This is complete BS. Even Petruna now admits he was not there and made up parts about Muslims.
Get current.
Schlussel is also an attorney and thus familiar with hearsay evidence. I doubt she’s gone off on this without weighing it carefully.
Really..where is the link that Petruna admits that?
There’s also Hagmann, who has a great CV and is v-e-r-y careful about what he says.
I doubt that both an attorney and an experienced PI would be so completely taken by “BS” especially when they both have extensive experience monitoring jihadis.
Interesting, Snopes more sources are listed for this story than for the Annie Jacobsen flight I mention earlier. They really should revisit and update it to include released documents.
... h'mm, and here's a story cited in the body from the Marietta Daily Journal: The curious case of AirTran flight 297 by Laura Armstrong (Marietta = Atlanta suburb)
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. [oh, NICE ... not only a chaplain on board who deals with terror victims, but a security expert as well... !]
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.
Thanks for the ping.
In May of 2009 my wife was unexpectedly hospitalized in Albuquerque, NM. I had been teaching a firearms course in Jackson Hole, Wyoming when I was called. In a panic, and still dressed in my security company’s uniform, I rushed to the airport and caught a flight which connected through Denver. In the waiting area for the DEN-ABQ flight, I noticed two young (in their late 20s to early 30s) Muslim men, their AMERICAN wives, and several children. The men were in western dress. Although the wives were covered head-to-toe with only their eyes and Nike sports shoes showing, they were clearly recognizable by their Midwestern American accents.
When I boarded the flight, I identified myself to the flight attendant as a retired airline employee who had once been a sworn officer, and as one who would be willing to help in the event of a disruption in the cabin. Shortly before takeoff, one of the Muslim men (he was seated next to an overwing exit) got up and began walking his son to the front of the plane. When ordered to sit down by the Flight Attendant, and to ring his call button “if this was an emergency”, he did so.
The F/A called the cockpit, then got up and walked back (with all passenger eyes on her). Seems “the child had to go to the bathroom”. She came up to me and asked “how long before we takeoff?” I was sitting in row 3 at the window, and could see we were #3 in line, with #1 on the runway. When I told her “3-4 minutes”, she went back; the man decided to wait until after takeoff.
As soon as the seat belt sign was turned off (5-6 minutes into the flight) one of the women came forward, entered the lav, and did not lock the door. When she had been in there for about a minute, the man and the child passed my row and sat down in seat 1C with the child on his lap. After another minute or two, the woman exited and the man and child entered the lav and locked the door. After several minutes they exited and returned to their seats.
Several minutes later the F/A came over to me, looking rather shaken, and showed me two razor blades wrapped in paper, and said “we found these under seat 1C”. Had I not been in the process of rushing to the emergency room, I would have made every passenger aware of what went on during the flight. Upon landing, no one met the aircraft, and, after several minutes of watching their group casually waiting for their bags at the claim area, I gave up and headed off to the hospital.
I am left with the suspicion that my uniform (and me being mistaken for an armed police officer) may have cooled any ideas they might have had.
But that's not what AirTran says in their detailed point-by-point response. They say that it is "not uncommon" to swap out a crew "for any number of reasons." They don't say which of those many reasons apply to THIS event. In a document whose stated purpose is to lay aside rumors and set out all the facts to dispel this "urban legend", they play coy with this very critical point.
Airtran mouths vague policy platitudes when they could have more easily stated the actual reason this crew swapped. They certainly chose not to waffle on other, far less significant points, clearly and emphatically denying them.
AirTran decries all the speculation, then makes a statement about the crew that actually requires speculation to parse. Does not compute.
sounds plausible. get infidel money, use against infidels.
Valujet flies again! I think that this was the airline that Mary Schiavo exposed as using duct-tape on their aircraft....
FTA: "Tedd Petruna tells me he was indeed on the flight and, afterward, wrote a long report for the airline about what happened on the flight. He says he’s shocked that AirTran is saying the TSA officials were never there, that the airline has the guts to flat out deny what happened on that flight and in the aftermath. There are plenty of records of his being on the flight and what happened, and he’s considering suing AirTran for lying about it and defaming him. Petruna predicted he’d be attacked for telling the truth about what happened on Flight 297, and he was right. But he told me that he never thought AirTran would lie and claim he wasn’t on the flight."
That is a little more than "just the e-mail."
FTA: "Tedd Petruna tells me he was indeed on the flight and, afterward, wrote a long report for the airline about what happened on the flight."
Valujet = horrendous fatal crash in the Everglades.
What a story. How did she find the blades, was she just recovering what she thought was a piece of trash, or did she kinda search? WHY was this contraband not reported?
>> “When ordered to sit down by the Flight Attendant, and to ring his call button “if this was an emergency”, he did so.”
It was horrible.
From Wiki-
After the Secretary of Transportation insisted that ValuJet was safe, Schiavo produced contrary evidence from government files. In the book’s analysis of the ValuJet Flight 592 Crash, Schiavo reviews evidence the FAA had to have known ValuJet was quite unsafe. The FAA wanted ValuJet to survive, according to Schiavo, and as a result the FAA did not do its job of overseeing and enforcing rules. The FAA later shut the airline down. In 1997, unable to shake off the stigma of the crash, ValuJet merged with the smaller AirTran and started operations under that name.
Thanks .. ;)
I’m in disbelief at how important her article is.
a GEORGIA BUSINESSMAN CONFIRMS THE STORY.
This is his company: http://www.chesleybrown.com/
!!!!!!!!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.