Posted on 12/25/2002 9:20:54 AM PST by gitmo
Joke empties plane
Man ticketed and sent home as passengers scurry to resume travels
As he boarded a commuter plane at the Dane County Regional Airport Tuesday morning, 33-year-old Steven M. Wiese of Cottage Grove peeked around the cockpit door and made a joke: "I hope you haven't been drinking."
The pilot didn't think it was funny. Neither did the other passengers.
"(The pilot) could see the other passengers' heads popping up like gophers coming out of their holes," said Lt. Michael Krembs of the Dane County Sheriff's Department. "The whole plane could hear. He said it really loud."
In an instant, Wiese's holiday travel plans were ruined. The flight was delayed. The other passengers had to re-book on other flights on Christmas Eve. And the pilots were checked to make sure they indeed had not been drinking.
Wiese and his wife have not flown since their honeymoon nine years ago. He had planned a trip to New York as a surprise Christmas gift for her.
"I shouldn't have said it. I regret saying it," Wiese said Tuesday afternoon. "I meant it as a joke. I had a smile on my face. But they took it the wrong way."
Atlantic Coast Airlines flight 6302, with 26 passengers aboard, was delayed. The crew reported to a medical facility to be tested for alcohol and drugs, in compliance with Federal Aviation Administration guidelines.
"Since 9-11, you can't joke about anything in an airport," Krembs said.
Wiese apologized to his fellow travelers as they got off the plane at the Madison airport and lined up at the ticket counter, hoping to be re-booked. Then he and his wife got in line, too.
"The deputies pulled them out of line and said, 'Oh, no. You're not going anywhere today,' " Krembs said.
The deputies then ticketed Wiese for disorderly conduct. He must pay a $225 fine.
That's not all.
The FBI and the U.S. attorney's office will discuss the incident after the holidays and decide whether the man should face the more serious charge of interfering with a flight crew, a federal felony that carries a maximum 20-year prison term, said Monica Shipley, FBI spokeswoman.
All of the other passengers were re-booked to their final destinations, said Rick Delisi, spokesman for Atlantic Coast Airlines. The members of the flight crew all tested negative for alcohol and other controlled substances. Their plane departed more than four hours late, at 2:05 p.m.
Delisi said the pilot followed the proper procedures.
"The crew is never meant to ask whether (people are) joking or what their motivations are," he said. ". . . People just don't realize the seriousness of what they're saying."
For Wiese, that realization came at a high price - and not just the cost of the non-refundable plane tickets. Instead of taking the trip, he and his wife now plan a quiet holiday at home trying to recover from the ordeal.
Wiese has weighed in his mind exactly what he should have done differently.
"I should have said, 'Merry Christmas.' "
A version of this story appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Dec. 25, 2002.
_____________________________________________________
The incident at the Dane County Regional Airport is not the first time a passenger has gotten into trouble for making a comment regarded as inappropriate.
A female passenger was kicked off an America West Airlines flight in San Francisco July 8 after she asked, "Have you checked your crew for sobriety?"
A Massachusetts man was sentenced to two years' probation and fined $500 this year when airlines workers asked if he was carrying anyone else's items and he said, "Like one of those ticking cardboard boxes?"
A Delaware man was sentenced to six months in prison in 1998 for forcing a jet to make an emergency landing after joking about having explosives in his carry-on bag.
A Miami woman was arrested in 1999 for swearing at flight attendants when she blocked a meal cart and was told to move.
You'll notice the article states the action is in compliance with FAA guidelines. As the federal government becomes more involved in the airline industry, it's no longer so clear that an airliner is a private establishment. Nor is it so clear that the passenger searches aren't occurring in violation of the 4th Amendment.
Bottom line: you can't have it both ways. When airlines accept government money, and use government agents to search passengers, they can no longer claim the rights of a private enterprise.
I read the rules on posting here. Tada! Try it. You, too, can be an "expert".
The article does not say the big mouth passenger was arrested or detained in compliance with FAA guidelines. It was the pilot's call on behalf of the airline he did not cite any FAA standards. If other passengers were alarmed or aware of the comment, he had to address it. The article does state that the pilot and crew were tested using FAA procedure.
The crew reported to a medical facility to be tested for alcohol and drugs, in compliance with Federal Aviation Administration guidelines.
This is the only mention of FAA standards and does not relate to the (almost)passenger.
Sorry, I should have been more clear. I took the FAA comment, along with the following, to mean there's a possible violation of federal law:
The FBI and the U.S. attorney's office will discuss the incident after the holidays and decide whether the man should face the more serious charge of interfering with a flight crew, a federal felony that carries a maximum 20-year prison term, said Monica Shipley, FBI spokeswoman.
Regardless, the airline industry is now virtually an extension of the federal government. The idea that government agents can act under the same guidelines as a private security guard is clearly erroneous.
The idea that government agents can act under the same guidelines as a private security guard is clearly erroneous.
Who put forth that idea? The pilot ordered the guy removed and canceled the flight. TSA screeners have their own set of federal rules.
So you and I, by accepting fire, police, sewer, etc. services provided by government, lose our rights as private citizens?
Sorry, that's a bit of an off-topic rant. I have a problem with federal security screeners searching private citizens without probable cause. I think it's indirectly related to the topic at hand, particularly because citizens are subject to a maximum 20-year prison sentence if they speak too loudly or say the wrong word. Situations such as these irritate me.
So you and I, by accepting fire, police, sewer, etc. services provided by government, lose our rights as private citizens?
Well, the argument could be made that we pay for those services. Airlines have accepted massive monetary bailouts from the government, as well as labor from government security personnel. Can they continue to toss people off airliners arbitrarily? (Granted, the personnel weren't by choice...)
Typical response from someone who has been granted a modicum of authority in our society, on balance though a smart aleck comment has far more in common with hollering Fart! in church, than yelling Fire! in a theater, do you see? Go back to polishing your badge and leave the comedy to the professionals.
Typical response from someone who has been granted a modicum of authority in our society, on balance though a smart aleck comment has far more in common with hollering Fart! in church, than yelling Fire! in a theater, do you see? Go back to polishing your badge and leave the comedy to the professionals.
Life threatingly alarming.
How long till that becomes a "federal felony"?
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