Posted on 08/10/2003 9:29:33 AM PDT by the_greatest_country_ever
Air France Co-Pilot Is Accused of Making Remark About Bomb
The co-pilot of Air France's late flight to Paris was arrested at Kennedy International Airport on Friday after making a remark about having a bomb in his shoe at a security checkpoint, officials said. No bomb was found, but he was charged with two felonies, the flight was canceled and 353 passengers were grounded overnight. It may have been a joke or an exasperated response to elaborate security requirements, investigators and witnesses said, but the comment that the pilot, Philippe H. Riviere, 51, is accused of making raised a red flag for the screeners, who are under orders to tolerate no threatening remarks, even those made in jest.
Mr. Riviere was taken into custody by the Port Authority police, searched and charged with falsely reporting a threat in the first and second degrees, which carry prison terms of seven and four years, respectively, said Patrick Clark, a spokesman for the Queens District Attorney, Richard A. Brown. Mr. Riviere was to be arraigned last night in Criminal Court, in Queens.
"It's not very often that you find a co-pilot making such inappropriate comments," said Lauren Stover, a spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration, the agency in charge of screening at the nation's major airports. "We have zero tolerance for those kinds of comments."
Shoes have been among the items most screened since the case of Richard C. Reid, the British citizen who was sentenced last January to life in prison for trying to ignite bombs hidden in the soles of his high-top sneakers on a flight from Paris to Miami on Dec. 22, 2001. Mr. Riviere, the co-pilot of Air France Flight 009, scheduled to depart for Paris at 11 p.m. Friday, arrived about 9:30 p.m. at the security checkpoint. There were differing accounts of what happened there.
"He balked at removing his shoes" for inspection, one investigator said, "and is alleged to have said, `I have a bomb in my shoe.´ " Almost simultaneously, the investigator said, the metal detector sounded an alarm. A passenger who witnessed the incident told NY1 News, however, that the pilot appeared to be making a joke. "Apparently one of the co-pilots got testy at the security and didn't like getting searched so much, and said, `Well, what do you think, I have a bomb on me?´"
In any case, the screeners summoned airport police, and Mr. Riviere was searched, said Tony Ciavolella, speaking for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airport.
In the meantime, Flight 009 was canceled, and the plane, a Boeing 747, was searched. No bomb was found.
Jim Faulkner, a spokesman for Air France, said he had no information on Mr. Riviere's record. He said the airline had not put up the passengers overnight. Many stayed at the airport and flew out about 10:30 a.m. yesterday. "We are extremely sorry for the inconvenience to our passengers," he said. "The most important thing for us was getting them safely to their destination."
Not a true story but I can see how this might very well happen. Just like that family that was yanked off a flight to Hawaii after their seemingly harmless yet not very bright teenage son placed a taunting note to baggage handlers in his luggage saying something like "Theres NO F**king Bomb in here so f**k You". Remember to just ask for the chapstick.
There is already one case on record of a commerical Air Egypt pilot hijacking and crashing his own aircraft into the water off Massachusetts.
The next 9/11 type hijack will likely be by one of the pilots, they also need to be scrutinized.
Read above for yet more cheerleeders of the current insanity at airports. I've driven on 3 trips this year already that I likely would have flown on if there still existed such a thing as 'common sense' in this country.
I don't think it's even safe for me to be in an airport because I simply will no longer suffer fools silently.
The real kicker is that even though I refuse to support this crap with my discretionary spending, I still have to support it with my taxes through givaways to airlines that I think should just fail if they can't at least argue for some sanity.
A truly stupid and insulting analogy. I'm surprised at you.
I don't feel insulted at all. But to compare Jews being herded into death camps at the point of a gun to people VOLUNTARILY boarding aircraft and having to undergo insignificant (and they are insignificant, as I undergo them three or four times a month) security screenings is just ludicrous.
And you know it.
I fly very frequently. I put up with removing my shoes every time I hop on a plane, no longer being able to fly with only a carry-on (because you can't bring many toiletries anymore: no aerosols (sometimes--depends upon the guard), no tweezers, etc.). I actually had to go through an extra security check because there were bobby pins in a pocket of my suitcase.
There is already one case on record of a commerical Air Egypt pilot hijacking and crashing his own aircraft into the water off Massachusetts.
What? Are all you folks nuts?
Frog or no, any time spent harassing pilots, and especially making them take off their shoes is a complete waste. Unless this guy was wearing a turban and sporting an unkempt beard, he is absolutely no threat to anyone. The time spent "investigating" such people is the threat.
Your reference to the Egyptian pilot is absurd. He didn't have a bomb with him, or anything in his shoes, so searching him or others who would be like him will never turn up anything. But for this we have a legion of imbeciles harassing old women here in the US. If this make you feel safer then you probably need serious psyhcological help.
ML/NJ
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