American Airlines Says Pilot Wanted Mug Shots of Terrorists to Check on Secret Service Agent-Passeng

AP via TBO ^ | 1-4-02 | Connie Cass

[Born in a Rage]

WASHINGTON (AP) - An American Airlines pilot was so worried that an armed Arab-American Secret Service agent boarding his flight was an impostor that he sought mug shots of terrorists while trying to check the agent's identity, airline records say.

The airline captain doubted the authenticity of the agent's badge and photo identification and kept him off the Christmas Day flight for 1 1/4 hours before ultimately taking off late without him, according to reports filed by the pilot and a manager of the airline's operations center.

The pilot described the man, a member of President Bush's security detail, as acting "very hostile" and making "loud, abusive comments." That raised more suspicion about the safety of allowing him aboard, he said.

Lawyers representing the Secret Service agent disputed the pilot's account, saying the agent was cooperative, calm and professional throughout the encounter and was the victim of racial bias.

"It was the pilot who was rude, unprofessional and demeaning," attorney Christy Lopez said at a news conference Thursday.

An American Airlines operations manager said the pilot requested photos of terrorist suspects. The manager said he advised the pilot instead to seek police help in checking the agent's credentials.

The agent, through his lawyers, is demanding an apology from American Airlines and an agreement to train flight crews better about civil rights. The pilot has complained to the Secret Service about the agent's behavior.

Bush told reporters last week he would be "madder than heck" if a government inquiry into the incident found one of his Secret Service protectors was discriminated against.

American Airlines released the pilot's incident report Thursday along with a statement that "the company vigorously resents any suggestion of racial discrimination."

"American will not allow any armed individual onboard, regardless of who he or she is, if that person is angry or acting in a manner that the crew believes could jeopardize the safety of the flight," the statement said.

The agent's attorneys said he hasn't sought compensation from American Airlines but hasn't ruled out a lawsuit, either. If he did receive any money, he would give it to victims of the Sept. 11 attacks, they said.

The agent has not identified himself for security reasons, his lawyers said. They released a statement on his behalf that said: "It has never been my desire to make this incident personal. This case is only about the facts."

American Airlines didn't name Flight 363's captain, either, but posted a copy of his report about the incident on its Web site.

The pilot wrote that his suspicions about the agent were justified by the Sept. 11 hijackings and by more recent reports of a man who carried a bomb in his shoe aboard an American Airlines flight from Paris to Miami. That passenger was subdued and then arrested after the flight was diverted to Boston.

The agent was scheduled to have flown alone, using a government-bought ticket, from Baltimore-Washington International Airport to Waco, Texas, to join the security detail protecting Bush at his ranch in nearby Crawford.

When the agent's flight was delayed by mechanical problems, airline workers put him on another plane, bound for Dallas. He was asked to step off that plane for another security check.

The agent left his carryon bags on the second plane. The pilot said his suspicions were aroused because a flight attendant said the passenger was acting strangely, and she had found a book with Arabic markings among his belongings. The agent's lawyers said it was an English-language textbook on Arab history.

The agent earlier had completed a required form for law officers traveling with firearms. His lawyers said an airline gate agent scratched out the flight number on that form and wrote in the second flight's number. They said they knew of no other problems with the form.

But the pilot reported that the carbon copy he was given was unreadable and incomplete. He said after the agent completed another form incorrectly, he became loud and abusive.

"The police agreed with me that there was a legitimate concern because of his unprofessional behavior," the pilot reported. The operations manager, in a separate report, said a police officer confirmed the pilot's account.

The agent was flown to Texas the next day after the airline manager spoke to a Secret Service supervisor.

--- On the Net: American Airlines: http://www.amrcorp.com/

AP-ES-01-04-02 0156EST

[Rain-maker]

Pilot has the last and final word. Who wants a nervous pilot flying you around, because he has to be politically correct.

This is horse patoot...

[ConsistentLibertarian]

"But the pilot reported that the carbon copy he was given was unreadable ..." Interesting. The Flight attendent thought his english language history book was in arabic. Makes one wonder when they say the form was unreadable ...

[ConsistentLibertarian]

"An American Airlines operations manager said the pilot requested photos of terrorist suspects." I thought it was just a matter of the pilot not having the paper work filled in correctly and being agitated and rude. If those were the grounds for keeping the Secret Service agent off the plane, and those are sufficient grounds, why is the pilot doing police work trying to see if he's a terrorist suspect? Makes one wonder if maybe the "paperwork filled in incorrectly" is a ruse.

[ConsistentLibertarian]

What about the second amendment? Why should anyone need paperwork to carry a gun on a plane?

[goldstategop]

I don't blame the ship's captain and if I were his X.O I'd back him up to the hilt on this. The first responsibility of any captain is to protect his ship and the lives of his passengers. That goes as much for airline as for sea captains. I don't have to be a Will Riker spouting regs to remind the captain of this. Its his duty and I'd damn well report him if he didn't fulfill his primary charge. And I'd testify to in court that in this case this captain of mine did everything by the book.

[ConsistentLibertarian]

Two questions: (1) What was the real reason this Secret Service agent was put off the plane? (2) Was the real reason a good one? You seem sure of (2). You might be right. But I don't see how anyone can answer the question without first saying something about (1). The pilot is saying "it was just that he was rude and his paperwork was incomplete". If that were really the reason, there would be no need for the _pilot_ to check his Secret Service identification or to look at mug shots of terrorist suspects. Which makes one think ... the pilot is being a little less than candid. Which brings us to (3) If you wanted to make up an innocuous excuse to keep someone off a plane, could you do better than "the paperwork was filled in incorrectly"?

[ConsistentLibertarian]

PS: What do you make of the flight attendant who can't tell whether a book is in english or arabic? You like picking winners. Is she one of yours?

[Brad C.]

I find it interesting that President Bush would get angry with the airline company for discriminating, yet there is no mention as to what he would do if the agent was at fault. If the agent was acting as described by the pilot, he should be fired.

[goldstategop]

The airline captain thought he posed a security risk. After Sept. 11th that's understandable. The captain tried to verify this Arab American was a Secret Service agent and when he couldn't get it answered to his satisfaction he made the call to keep him off the plane. And the fact the agent was rude and abusive made that call easier to justify. In this times its better to hurt an innocent passenger's feelings than to see a plane hijacked or blown up. If you need a name to make the captain's decision sound think Richard Reid. And what matters is the passengers were safe. As far as I'm concerned the captain did his duty and the matter ends right there. If I were his X.0 and these were the circumstances as he related them to me you bet I'd back his version of events up all the way.

[goldstategop]

OK so she couldn't be sure. In my view better safe than sorry.

[ConsistentLibertarian]

Fired for filling in paperwork "incorrectly"? You like "if"s. If the pilots misrepresented the facts in his complaint to the US Secret Service do you think he could be facing criminal liability?

[ConsistentLibertarian]

"OK so she couldn't be sure." Usually, even if someone can't understand a book, they can tell you whether it's in English. Arabic doesn't even use the same alphabet. That might be a clue ... You have to calibrate what credibility you give the airline's claims and since none of them can tell English from Arabic, we have a rough clue who had idiocy on their side ...

[goldstategop]

A captain's word aboard his ship has always been held to be law. There's no place for mutineers or surly passengers on it. It doesn't matter whether its in the air or on the sea. If the captain misrepresented the facts of the matter that's for the court to determine although I would think Sept. 11th allows him the widest possible discretion. For me protecting his ship and preserving the lives of his crew and passengers is the captain's primary responsibility. All else is secondary.

[goldstategop]

We'd have to wait and see how the witnesses testimony shakes out in court. I have a feeling the captain and his officers will be very believable. Juries tend to have the same respect for an airline captain's uniform and that of his crew as they would for a military officer's or a cop's.

[ConsistentLibertarian]

Two separate issues that are sure to get confused: Suppose a pilot wants to remove you from a plane. (1) Do you have any recourse at that particular moment? (2) Do you have any recourse after the fact? The answer to (1) is clearly "No". You can't force a pilot to let you on the plane. But the answer to (1) doesn't settle (2). Ie, if a pilot refused to fly anyone who appeared Jewish, or Catholic, or Black, or Republican, or whatever ... you might not have any recourse at the time, but the pilot wouldn't be able to hide behind (1) and say "My decision cannot be reviewed".

[DISCO]

I agree with your assesment. The pilot has the final say. He did what he thought was right for safety concerns. For this SS agent to act in this manner is grounds for his dimissal. I don't want this crybaby around my president. If he keeps his job, he should be sent to guard Buddy. Oh wait, send him to guard Hillary or Bubba.

[kcvl]

"The police agreed with me that there was a legitimate concern because of his unprofessional behavior," the pilot reported. The operations manager, in a separate report, said a police officer confirmed the pilot's account.

I'll take the PILOT'S(the person flying the plane who is responsible for the SAFETY of the passengers)word for this. It seems A BIT strange AFTER 9/11 to hire an attorney because of discrimination. If the hijackers looked like me and they wanted to check me I would UNDERSTAND! Let's NOT hurt any feelings(/sarcasm). That's what got us in this mess in the first place. This guy is protesting a little TOO MUCH, IMO.

[ConsistentLibertarian]

If it's just an empirical claim about who a jury's going go like, you may be right. Predicting what a jury is going to do and making a claim about the merits of a case are two different things. Look at OJ.

[goldstategop]

We agree on one. As for two that's what the courts are for. In the interim as it is a captain's decision is essentially unreviewable.