Posted on 01/05/2002 1:56:21 AM PST by ImphClinton
N E W Y O R K, Jan. 4 — An American Airlines passenger says he believes an Arab-American Secret Service agent who was kicked off a Christmas Day flight was targeted because of his ethnicity.
"I feel he was most likely removed from the plane — obviously I wasn't privy to the paperwork or that he was a Secret Service [agent] or such — but I think he fit a profile," the passenger, Mark Pueschel, said today on ABCNEWS' Good Morning America.
Pueschel had been seated next to the agent as the American Airlines flight prepared to take off from Baltimore to Dallas. The agent, who was armed, was on his way to work at President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas. He was removed from the flight after the captain questioned the validity of his credentials.
Pueschel contacted the Council of Arab-American Relations after seeing a press release on the incident.
Bush 'Madder Than Heck' If Discrimination Seen
Bush told reporters last week he would be "madder than heck" if a government inquiry into the incident found that one of his Secret Service protectors was the victim of discrimination.
The agent demanded an apology from the airline through his attorneys at a news conference Thursday. The agent, whose identity has not been released, did not attend because he was on a security detail and not available for comment in person, his attorneys said. They read a statement in which he said he did not have a vendetta against American Airlines.
"It has never been my desire to make this incident personal," the statement said. "This case is only about the facts. I love my job, and I want to thank my fellow agents for all their support. God bless America."
American Airlines officials have said the agent was removed at the pilot's request because of "inconsistencies" in the paperwork he filed that is required of all federal agents flying on commercial airlines. Religion and ethnicity, American Airlines said, had nothing to do with his removal.
The pilot also released a statement saying the agent was "confrontational" and "abusive."
Christy Lopez, an attorney for the agent, said the agent was a victim of discrimination: "We believe the captain is using that as an excuse for taking him off the plane, but it is quite clear he took him off the plane for other reasons."
The agent has not ruled out filing a lawsuit against American Airlines, Lopez said. He still seeks an amicable resolution of the incident, but he wants airline officials to review their practices so no one else is victimized, she said.
Airline Calls Accusation 'Frivolous'
In a statement, American Airlines called the agent's claims "frivolous" and supported the pilot's actions, saying they were based on concerns for the security and safety of the passengers and crew.
"American carries out its security obligations according to the guidelines provided by the federal government," the airline's statement said. "Those guidelines are applied equally among all passengers, and the company vigorously resents any suggestion of racial discrimination."
Makes this Pilot look bad. Why didn't he call the Whitehouse????
Hhahahahha
PILOTS DON'T CALL THE FRIGGIN WHITE HOUSE! They are there to fly a da*n airplane. They are captain of this ship (airplane) and decide who gets on.
Wake up dude! Snap out of it and stop wasting FR bandwidth.
Makes this Pilot look bad.
Actually your posts are making Y O U look bad. LOL!!
The agent was looking for a lawsuit. Don't try to tell me that a rational agent would have been barred from the flight. He was looking to get booted.
What a forceful direct statement.
I think it makes the pilot look better when the arab broadcasting corporation (ABC) trolls guys like this up to the surface for their 15minutes of face-time.
Please Mark let us know how you feel - don't let any facts get in the way now.....
I was worried this week that this fine balance between noble public words and hard-headed security measures would be jeopardized by the case of the Secret Service agent. If he were to sue (which he would prefer to avoid), the result could be more sensitivity to discrimination — and less vigilance. That’s a fair enough tradeoff in most places, but not at 30,000 feet.
Then a conversation with the agent’s lawyer, John Relman, convinced me that the story could have a happy ending, especially if the Secret Service agent forced the airlines to upgrade certain security precautions. “The agent is not challenging the right of the pilot to say, ‘I want you to step off the plane, and one of the reasons is what you look like,’” Relman says. “What we are challenging is the refusal to let the agent back on to the plane without establishing that he was a legitimate security risk.”
BACKGROUND CHECKS
Here’s where the facts of this particular case are relevant. The agent says he gave the pilot the phone number for the Secret Service and the general White House number to verify his identity; the airline says the pilot was worried that the agent, were he a terrorist, could just have a friend or co-conspirator answer the phone. That was an overreaction. Sure, the pilot has the right to be wrong in his suspicions, but why are airline personnel so untrained in basic security measures like background checks? The particular problem in this case would be easy enough to solve with a computer password or central phone number that could verify which government employees are permitted to carry a weapon. Imagine the other advantages of such inter-agency coordination. If it had been in place before Sept. 11, the FBI and the INS, for instance, might have communicated with each other and foiled the whole plot."
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All I want is an apology from the Pilot. He should have called the Whitehouse. He had 90 minutes to do so and only one "problem" passenger. He called other people. The White House Phone number is no secret. He was either too lazy to bother or had alterior motives
I watched another pilot talk about how they pull away from the gate with planes loads of fares (that's you and me) when they know it will be hours before they can take off just so they will get paid more. Seems ther time doesn't count until they pull away from the gate. That is all we are to them fares. Not people. They could care less about us as long as they get a bigger paycheck. If I pee my pants so what If I can't eat for four hours so what If the President can't have his SS Agent. So what. Not worth the time of a phone call and the embarsement of a hunch being wrong.
Sounds like there is some blame to go around to all parties.
Probably for the same reason "the pilot" didn't, you won't get through!!
Sorry you have so little respect for the White House. Did Clintoon do this to you. GW is a much person and deserves respect. And a call to the WhiteHouse would have shown this. As it is I believe this Pilot is going to be in a lot of trouble and will perhaps have some high legal bills, if he continues in his stupidity. I believe GW will support this agent to the Max.
This Agent sounds very reasonable to me. He wants to make life better for us all. He wants to prevent another 911 and will donate any money he earns to 911 victims if AA and this Pilot do not wize up and do what is right.
Right....so you want the pilot wait at the gate while the government comes up with this phone system.
This phone system would have prevented 9/11....The reason the terrorists were able to board the aircraft with their weapons was because prior to 9/11 they were not viewed as weapons. Blades less than 4 inches were not considered weapons. Even if they were detected, which they probably weren't.
I have on several occasions. The phone never rang more than three times. They were always very polite and attentive. Once I reported a death threat I read on this forum the SS was very interested and took down all the information even called me back and assured it was a person they were watching but was most likely harmless.
Was his name, YOU?
Most large airfields these days don't allow pushback until an aircraft can be placed in the stack for takeoff. If you get stuck on the ground, the pilot should be able to tell you when you are slated to takeoff. It should be in his clearance. If you really think the pilots are trying to keep you trapped on their jet for their pocket book, fly with Southwest. Their pilots are payed by the leg miles and not time.
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