Posted on 12/10/2009 3:56:04 AM PST by cyn
Thanks again, Marietta Daily Journal, for doing what news organizations are supposed to do: investigate and inform.
MABLETON - Security expert Brent Brown, a passenger on the AirTran Airways flight that has become the subject of national controversy, is calling on AirTran to sincerely apologize for the trauma he said the airline caused passengers.On Nov. 17, Brown, who lives in Mableton, boarded AirTran flight 297 from Atlanta to Houston, which was scheduled to depart at 4:43 p.m. But a disruption by some passengers kept it on the ground for hours.
AirTran officials did not return calls for comment on Wednesday.
Brown is a former Cobb police officer and now is CEO of Chesley Brown Companies, Inc., a 1,000 employee security firm based in Smyrna. Brown said the problem began when 12 people of Middle Eastern descent boarded the plane. Several were talking loudly in a foreign language and were being disruptive, ignoring the flight attendant who asked them to be seated. Instead, they played with what appeared to be a cell phone or Blackberry, said Brown, who watched from business class.
"You could see the tension in the eyes of the flight crew," Brown said.
After that the captain announced that the plane, which was in line to take off, would be turning around because of a security problem, Brown said. Brown turned to his seatmate and told him to expect the blue lights of police cars to approach the plane. But that never happened.
Instead, when the plane returned to the gate, only gate agents were there to greet it.
Two of the 12 Middle Easterners were escorted off the plane, and then a few other passengers got up to leave as well.
"They were obviously frightened," Brown said.
When the remaining passengers saw that no one had asked the 10 remaining Middle Easterners to leave the plane, the majority of the passengers attempted to exit. But when the flight attendant saw she was about to lose most of the plane's passengers, the 10 Middle Easterners were asked to leave, Brown said.
Just as he thought the plane was to take off for a second time, Brown said the captain announced that the luggage of the 12 passengers would be removed from the plane.
Brown said he has no desire to criticize any particular group of people. But given recent events in this country, he finds little use in being politically correct and makes no apologies in identifying the troublemakers as Middle Easterners.
About one hour into the delay, Brown said an AirTran official who said he was in charge of AirTran for Atlanta, boarded the plane and said the flight crew would be changed for legal reasons. Brown said the official indicated the flight crew was over its allotted flight time. But Brown said that the captain later walked past him and said he refused to fly the aircraft after what had unfolded.
"The flight attendants were in tears. Everyone was very upset," Brown said.
The next jolt came when 10 of the 12 Middle Easterners were allowed back on the plane. This caused the majority of the remaining passengers to leave the plane, he said. Brown, who had to be in Houston for business, was deciding what he should do, thinking of his two young daughters at home, when half a dozen AirTran pilots boarded the mostly empty plane. One pilot told Brown the plane was probably the safest one on the runway after all the screenings, so Brown stayed on.
Brown said he doubts the 12 passengers were plotting terrorist activity. But even so, he believes AirTran seriously mishandled the situation. As a seasoned flier, Brown said he's never had a more nerve-wracking experience on a plane.
"I'll tell you one thing, this Baptist was praying in the front," Brown said.
Brown said the captain and crew performed their jobs admirably, but AirTran's corporate people botched the situation by failing to alert the police and failing to tell passengers what was unfolding.
"I think they put our safety in jeopardy," Brown said.
When the plane's captain announces there is a security problem, law enforcement should be called immediately, Brown said. Gate agents aren't trained for that job, he said.
Brown believes police weren't called because AirTran wanted to keep the situation quiet. He said the company has since tried to brush off the issue as a customer-service glitch.
"It was not a customer-service issue. It was a security breach. Either follow the rules to keep everybody safe or have another Fort Hood," Brown said. "AirTran's got some explaining to do."
Can you please switch the body and the comment? It wouldn’t let me switch it. Thanks!
I don’t ask this to criticize the passengers in any way — I wasn’t there and I can’t be sure what I would have done — but why didn’t anyone turn on their cell phone and call the police?
PING
Ping! More evidence that AirTrans is lying.
I still haven’t read or heard about this anywhere but on FR.
Column on perplexing case of Air Tran flight 297 got lot of attention -- Laura Armstrong, 12/8/09 -- NOT POSTED TO FRThe Curious Case of Air Tran flight 297 -- Laura Armstrong, 12/6/09
I’m not sure what you mean; these articles came from an outside source & I found them from a websearch.
well, well, well...
A week from now, the AJC might get wind of this story (provided that USA Today reports it first).
The whole thing started over an electronic device. Even if passengers other than LE types like Brown could be certain that AirTran hadn't called the proper authorities, they'd likely be reticent to do anything that could possibly be construed as behavior similar to that of the disruptor[s]. Just a guess, of course, as is much of the discussion, since AirTran chose to stop way short of clarity in its ostensible efforts to clarify.
Good question, but that doesn’t alleviate the airline and airport from their responsibilities.
This should be the stuff of a Pulitzer prize for some enterprising reporter and newspaper. There have been numerous incidents in which "mideasterners" (call them what you will) are allowed to congregate in the aisles, multiple odd trips to the lavatory, disrupt the flight, be rude to flight attendants and other passengers.
I'd love to see interviews from FA and crew, other passengers... it's being widely asked, why haven't other passengers come forward -- from this and prior incidents? Now there's a good question!
And, WHY IS THIS BEING ALLOWED? Can I expect the same kid glove treatment if I misbehave in the same way?
« Pierre Investigator wrote on Tuesday, Dec 08 at 02:31 PM »RE: Can you confirm this story about AIRTRAN 297?Monday, December 7, 2009 1:44 PM
Nancy Simpson" This is to confirm that Mr. Brown was on the flight and the statements quoted below are accurate.
Nancy M. Simpson
Vice President – Support Services
Chesley Brown International
bttt
You’re right, of course. The passengers had every right to think that the airline was calling the police. The fact that they didn’t is grounds for a lawsuit in my opinion.
What was AirTran doing? Trying to avoid a muzzie lawsuit, I’m sure.
So the passengers reaction should be to sue them for NOT acting, so that NEXT time an airlines tries to avoid one lawsuit they might fear incurring another one.
AirTrans is not lying.
I know these guys personally and they are as straight arrow as you can get.
And the Airline’s name is AirTran and NOT AirTrans.
I meant what I said. This is the only place I’ve seen this discussed. No hidden agenda.
It is being reported on the radio here, but they are also discounting it saying that the writer of the infamous email was not on the passenger list.
An AirTran flight from Atlanta to Houston has a business class?
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.