In this case he had concerns, which were also noted by other crew members, he attempted to correct and or validate his concerns, and finally made a decision that he was fully entitled to make. Yes he could have made other calls. Yes he probably should have in the "90 minutes" available to him.
OTH, the agent also had 90 minutes to complete the form which he was asked to. He failed to do this on two occasions. That same time could have been used to ask for a meeting with the AA operations maanger at the airport. But instead it turned into a pissing match.
Both sides erred, but one erred on the side of safety.
As for this agent trying to find a means of improving security, he had a job to do, he was on his way to do it, and he could discuss it with most powerful man in the world at his leasure.
You are making an incredible amount of sense!
I salute your good sense!!
Really? How do you know this? Were you there? I think the airline thought they were doing the right thing, but when they realized they were dealing with not only a SS agent, but one on the Presidential detail, they began a major CYA campaign.
Airline employees have a lot of guts to talk about this guy being rude and abusive.