Two Passengers Held at Seattle Airport

Reuters ^ | Wednesday October 31 11:23 AM ET | Reuters

[Koblenz]

SEATTLE (Reuters) - U.S. Customs and FBI (news - web sites) agents in Seattle seized two passengers from a Northwest Airlines Corp. jet inbound from Narita, Japan, on Wednesday and held them for questioning, airport and airline spokespersons said.

Officials kept the rest of the 201 passengers and 17 crew members on board the Boeing 747-200 while the two unidentified men were questioned and their bags searched, said Northwest spokesman Bill Mellon.

``The FBI asked us to hold (the plane) short of the passenger terminal. Customs and FBI agents boarded the flight and have detained two men. They are questioning them and they are checking their carry-on and checked luggage,'' Mellon said.

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport spokeswoman Terry-Ann Mohon said passengers are routinely held aboard the plane during such an incident.

The red-eye flight from Narita had otherwise gone normally, Mellon said.

``The were no problems on the flight. No incidents were reported,'' he said.

Officials at the Seattle FBI office declined to confirm any of the details of the incident.

[Billthedrill]

Oh, great. I fly to the East Coast from SEATAC next week. I hear they're laying in an extra supply of rubber gloves for that "special" search...

Usually I like to travel in a robe, a false beard, and muttering "kill the infidels" - it usually guarantees me an empty seat next to me, but I don't think it'll work this time.

[eaglewatch]

Ref #16: I have never drank hot mustard before. I guess I need to go beyond my Vodka and broaden my experiences. :-)

[freeeee]

Here in New York we just call it booze.

But wasabi is not booze. It's Japanese horseradish (hot!).

Maybe you were thinking of sake?

[Redbob]

You think the security checks at US airports are tough, you should see what they do at Narita - first security checkpoint is several miles away. Everyone gets out of their car/bus, vehicle is checked, bags are checked, documents checked by sub-gun totin' samurai-wannabe's dressed like Imperial Stormtroopers.

[Attillathehon]

as well as the one they grabbed outside the midtown tunnel this morning in Queens. N.Y.

Details please, from a New Yorker.

[freeeee]

You think the security checks at US airports are tough, you should see what they do at Narita - first security checkpoint is several miles away. Everyone gets out of their car/bus, vehicle is checked, bags are checked, documents checked by sub-gun totin' samurai-wannabe's dressed like Imperial Stormtroopers.

True, but part of why I'm always glad to get back to the US is that we don't (didn't) have to put up with that sort of thing.

[Lucky]

A few days ago INS nabbed someone in Arizona coming in on a flight from Japan.

[Attillathehon]

BTTT

[JD86]

ping

[Eva]

Vehicles are checked before entering Seatac, also. Not everyone is given a thorough inspection, though. There seems to be some profiling system being used. Taxis and cars (they just used a flash light through the windows of my wagon) are inspected and trunks opened, luggage moved,etc. but not opened. Passengers are questioned but not asked to produce papers or tickets.

[meridia]

FoxNews currently reports that there may be ANTHRAX COURIERS on the two Northwest flights. A spokesperson for NW Airlines is going to be interviewed after the current commercial.

[HardStarboard]

>>>HazMat suits, hmmmm....<<<

Your post is a perfect example of taking something out of context...and then propigating fear from the misinterpeted information.

If you'll go back and read post #3 you'll see that no "hazmat suits" were mentioned. The post joked that they were probably "running a hazmat check on wasabi".

Wasabi is Japanese horseradish sauce!!

Your penchant for fear mongering is dangerous. Check before you jump to conclusions. This is a fine example of how rumors start!

[anniegetyourgun]

Yeah, I wouldn't try it this time. Actually, I flew out to D.C. a few weeks ago and it took about 2 hours to get through the lines. When I left Dulles coming home, it took 15 min. I did lots of looking around and concluded that the bottom line is that SeaTac is just run by incompetents. But then, we've known that for a while, eh?

[Aggie Mama]

Just saw the same report. Were that 747 the real plane or just a file tape?

[mykdsmom]

Men in hazmat suits were seen going through baggage that had been taken off the aircraft.

Perhaps YOU need to read the article again.

MKM

[Aggie Mama]

One flight to seattle and one flight to San Francisco with 747s detained from Japan.

[Cinnamon Girl]

[Grampa Dave]

I know this guy who gets really cold with our wet winters in N. Kali.

To warm himself up at night, he puts wasabi into a cup of Saki and then microwaves it before he drinks it! Just thinking about it, raised my body temp about 4 degrees! The same guy pours jabanaro hot sauce on and into 5 alarm chili!

[richandfamous]

lol...

[demnomo]

I may have a neighbor friend whose husband may be on that plane. He was returning from Japan this morning. I've tried to contact the family, but have gotten no answer. I hope everything turns out OK. Thank the Lord the plane has landed safely at SFO airport! Prayers, please.