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Eyewitness: "I Never Heard the Word 'Bomb'"
TIME.com ^ | Dec. 8, 2005 | Siobhan Morrissey

Posted on 12/08/2005 12:21:37 PM PST by Rennes Templar

A passenger on Flight 924 gives his account of the shooting and says Rigoberto Alpizar never claimed to have a bomb

By SIOBHAN MORRISSEY/MIAMI

At least one passenger aboard American Airlines Flight 924 maintains the federal air marshals were a little too quick on the draw when they shot and killed Rigoberto Alpizar as he frantically attempted to run off the airplane shortly before take-off.

"I don't think they needed to use deadly force with the guy," says John McAlhany, a 44-year-old construction worker from Sebastian, Fla. "He was getting off the plane." McAlhany also maintains that Alpizar never mentioned having a bomb.

"I never heard the word 'bomb' on the plane," McAlhany told TIME in a telephone interview. "I never heard the word bomb until the FBI asked me did you hear the word bomb. That is ridiculous." Even the authorities didn't come out and say bomb, McAlhany says. "They asked, 'Did you hear anything about the b-word?'" he says. "That's what they called it."

When the incident began McAlhany was in seat 24C, in the middle of the plane. "[Alpizar] was in the back," McAlhany says, "a few seats from the back bathroom. He sat down." Then, McAlhany says, "I heard an argument with his wife. He was saying 'I have to get off the plane.' She said, 'Calm down.'"

Alpizar took off running down the aisle, with his wife close behind him. "She was running behind him saying, 'He's sick. He's sick. He's ill. He's got a disorder," McAlhany recalls. "I don't know if she said bipolar disorder [as one witness has alleged]. She was trying to explain to the marshals that he was ill. He just wanted to get off the plane."

McAlhany described Alpizar as carrying a big backpack and wearing a fanny pack in front. He says it would have been impossible for Alpizar to lie flat on the floor of the plane, as marshals ordered him to do, with the fanny pack on. "You can't get on the ground with a fanny pack," he says. "You have to move it to the side."

By the time Alpizar made it to the front of the airplane, the crew had ordered the rest of the passengers to get down between the seats. "I didn't see him get shot," he says. "They kept telling me to get down. I heard about five shots."

McAlhany says he tried to see what was happening just in case he needed to take evasive action. "I wanted to make sure if anything was coming toward me and they were killing passengers I would have a chance to break somebody's neck," he says. "I was looking through the seats because I wanted to see what was coming.

"I was on the phone with my brother. Somebody came down the aisle and put a shotgun to the back of my head and said put your hands on the seat in front of you. I got my cell phone karate chopped out of my hand. Then I realized it was an official."

In the ensuing events, many of the passengers began crying in fear, he recalls. "They were pointing the guns directly at us instead of pointing them to the ground," he says "One little girl was crying. There was a lady crying all the way to the hotel."

McAlhany said he saw Alpizar before the flight and is absolutely stunned by what unfolded on the airplane. He says he saw Alpizar eating a sandwich in the boarding area before getting on the plane. He looked normal at that time, McAlhany says. He thinks the whole thing was a mistake: "I don't believe he should be dead right now."


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Extended News; Front Page News; Government; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 1lessloon; airlinesecurity; alpizar; bfd; dumcalhany; flight924; johnmcalhany; liar; mcalhany
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To: cvq3842
It's a sin to second guess the folks who risk their lives to keep us safe.

It is?

141 posted on 12/08/2005 12:57:20 PM PST by JeffAtlanta
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To: brytlea
And now he's made because they weren't nice to him! Wah!

Exactly. He was making a problem of himself in a serious situation. He's lucky that he wasn't hauled out of there in handcuffs.

142 posted on 12/08/2005 12:57:22 PM PST by wyattearp (The best weapon to have in a gunfight is a shotgun - preferably from ambush.)
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To: Rennes Templar

So, does "bipolar" mean what I think it means?


143 posted on 12/08/2005 12:57:45 PM PST by alarm rider (Irritating leftists as often as is humanly possible....)
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To: d-back
One hallmark of a conservative's perspective is a heightened skepticism of governmental justifications for killing an unarmed man.

One hallmark of a foaming at the mouth, card-carrying, Left-Wing ACLU type is to assume that law enforcement officers are always in the wrong when a criminal suspect who poses a threat to public safety, and refuses to comply with lawful instructions, is shot.

144 posted on 12/08/2005 12:58:04 PM PST by pawdoggie
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To: Howlin
"They kept telling me to get down. I heard about five shots." "I was looking through the seats because I wanted to see what was coming.

McAlhany says he tried to see what was happening just in case he needed to take evasive action. "I wanted to make sure if anything was coming toward me and they were killing passengers I would have a chance to break somebody's neck," he says. so I could be one of the first on TV!

145 posted on 12/08/2005 12:58:14 PM PST by SweetCaroline ( "Don't Upset Me.....I'm Running Out Of Places To Hide The Bodies")
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To: brytlea
I really didn't understand panic-attacks until I met my wife.

They really scare me and they happen for apparently no reason, she hyperventilates and can not be still.

Crowds and confined places like planes really set her off.

146 posted on 12/08/2005 12:58:28 PM PST by TexasCajun
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To: piasa

I predict this guy will run the table on talk shows tonight.

I can almost see him crying with Anderson Cooper.


147 posted on 12/08/2005 12:59:00 PM PST by Howlin
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To: Palladin
If he was on the phone talking to his brother, how could he hear the entire conversation between the disturbed man and his wife, and how could he hear anything else, including the word "bomb"?

Because when people argue, they tend to get loud. Also, when the guy starting running up the aisle, I'm sure all of the passengers started to pay close attention to what was going on.

This witness may be mistaken, but no reason to shoot the messenger.

148 posted on 12/08/2005 12:59:05 PM PST by JeffAtlanta
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To: TexasCajun

Buy her a couple of Margaritas in the bar before you board.


149 posted on 12/08/2005 12:59:18 PM PST by Palladin (There ain't nobody here but us chickens. (Senate Dems Theme Song))
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To: piasa

Someone should send the contradictory articles to Drudge. Something is not right about his story.


150 posted on 12/08/2005 12:59:30 PM PST by elc
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To: Howlin
"I was on the phone with my brother. Somebody came down the aisle and put a shotgun to the back of my head and said put your hands on the seat in front of you." I think that's a damn lie.

A Miami SWAT team boarded the plane after the shooting. That's probably where the shotgun came from.

Let's face it, most people don't like having weapons leveled at them, or being in the middle of shootouts, or having their bags blown apart, or any number of things that went on. As a result, a lot of them are going to give accounts hostile to the marshals.

The marshal messed up, plain and simple, his job is to shoot terrorists, Rigoberto Alpizar was not a terrorist. It was an understandable error, given the circumstances, but an error none the less.

The unfortunate consequence of his error is that there are going to be more formal procedures and second guessing that are going to limit the aggressiveness of the marshals during a real attack.

Try this on for size:

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- The hearts of all NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) members go out to the family of Rigoberto Alpizar and to the marshals involved in the shooting, who we know must be profoundly affected by this tragedy. We recognize that air marshals have very difficult jobs and sometimes have to make split second, life and death decisions. NAMI calls upon the Federal Air Marshall Service and all other law enforcement agencies to take a close look at its training and education protocols and, if currently lacking, adopt measures to prepare officers to respond effectively to people with severe mental illness. Law enforcement officers frequently come into contact with people who may be acting erratically or irrationally due to severe mental illnesses or other brain disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease. Many communities throughout the United States, including Miami, have adopted Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) programs to better prepare officers to respond to these situations. These programs work and save lives!

I suspect that you are going to see more and more of this type of language "We know they have to make split second decisions - but...". Unfortuately this is the process that helps us begin to slowly slide towards the next 9/11

151 posted on 12/08/2005 12:59:52 PM PST by hedgie
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To: Palladin

Margaritas and Two pills work.


152 posted on 12/08/2005 1:00:33 PM PST by TexasCajun
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To: Rennes Templar
"I never heard the word 'bomb' on the plane," McAlhany told TIME in a telephone interview.

So? If you were in a bank that was robbed but never heard the word "stickup", does that mean it was not spoken to a teller?

153 posted on 12/08/2005 1:00:40 PM PST by theDentist (The Dems have put all their eggs in one basket-case: Howard "Belltower" Dean.)
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To: Barney Gumble
If the guy had a bomb, and it denonated people would be saying "the marshalls aren't properly trained.

If the guy had a bomb, do you think maybe criticism of TSA would come into play? An effective bomber wouldn't announce before detonation, they try to avoid detection, so criticism of a marshall would be out of line in the event of a detonation. The marshall's job in flight is to protect the flight deck.

154 posted on 12/08/2005 1:01:14 PM PST by Cboldt
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To: Doc Savage; governsleastgovernsbest

Oh-oh.....seems a repeat of the British event (Brazilian engineer shot to death)


155 posted on 12/08/2005 1:01:41 PM PST by DCPatriot ("It aint what you don't know that kills you. It's what you know that aint so" Theodore Sturgeon)
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To: TexasCajun
I really didn't understand panic-attacks until I met my wife.

Go to the doctor and get some Ativan's.

156 posted on 12/08/2005 1:01:57 PM PST by Rodney King (No, we can't all just get along.)
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To: West Coast Conservative

Eyewitnesses are historically unreliable. You'll get fifty different versions of events from 50 people.


157 posted on 12/08/2005 1:02:01 PM PST by somerville
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To: TexasCajun

Only planes set me off. But if you've ever had a panic attack on an airplane, you don't really want to get back on one! I'm sorry you're wife has them tho. They suck.
susie


158 posted on 12/08/2005 1:02:02 PM PST by brytlea (I'm not a conspiracy theorist....really.)
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bookmark


159 posted on 12/08/2005 1:02:10 PM PST by trisham (Zen is not easy. It takes effort to attain nothingness. And then what do you have? Bupkis.)
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To: jdm
A SHOTGUN on the plane? This guy is lying through his teeth. There was no shotgun on the plane.

Bingo! I'd bet that the marshalls carry Glocks or Sigs in 9mm.

160 posted on 12/08/2005 1:02:12 PM PST by Cobra64
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