Is this the USA's stupidest traveller?

[Princess Fiona]

Report on Fox of a passenger not turning off their phone and the entire aircraft being offloaded and re-screened.
Words fail me:
http://www.fox40tv.com/news/local/s...ith-cellphone-use/6FM4UFLEG0m7eraJy8zPgw.cspx

 

[scaredeycat]

Dumb passenger without a doubt, but the security response was just over the top. Those guys seem unable to tell the difference between movies and real life.
No wonder it's called the LOTFAP.

 

[anat0l]

Very dumb passenger. Perhaps not the stupidest, but up there somewhere.

Hope the passenger has the book thrown at them, at least for the cost of the whole ruckus they caused.


Of course, I smell another "do electronic devices really need to be turned off" debate coming........

 

[dot]

What I dont understand is why they had to offload everyone else? Surely just offload the one pax and their luggage, then let the rest go on their way....

 

[anat0l]

What I dont understand is why they had to offload everyone else? Surely just offload the one pax and their luggage, then let the rest go on their way....

Almost certainly once the pax are off the aircraft in anyway they probably need to be rescreened.


Possible explanations (all conceived, possibly exaggerated):

• Whoever was sent to 'remove' the passenger could've been in kahoots with them, and hence to ensure security they forced everyone off to be rescreened.
• It's not very clear from the article, but at a guess the disruption happened once the flight had already had doors closed and cleared to go. After the aircraft had to return to the terminal, the doors were opened and the cabin is deemed no longer secure. So offload everyone and rescreen.

Of course, all paranoid or purely a blind following of the lowest common denominator procedures (difficult to argue against that per se). But that's why the passenger who caused the disruption should get a real thumping for causing this mess, especially to think it could've been easily avoided.


I'm sure there's another-side story from the passenger, but come on - turn off the damn device already......

 

[harvyk]

• Whoever was sent to 'remove' the passenger could've been in kahoots with them, and hence to ensure security they forced everyone off to be rescreened.

Surely anyone who is authorised to remove a pax from an aircraft has some sort of security clearance or at a minimum has been through security screening.

 

[juddles]

Perhaps during the heated exchange the passenger told the crew something that caused them to have a concern - twits say all sorts of things when they are challenged. Probably started joking about bombs and so forth.

 

[casanovawa]

Perhaps during the heated exchange the passenger told the crew something that caused them to have a concern - twits say all sorts of things when they are challenged. Probably started joking about bombs and so forth.

Yes, I guess the one common denominator of all the attempted and successful terrorist plots has been a half wit making a big deal to attract attention to themselves (and perhaps even giving away that they have planted a bomb) before the plane has even taken off...

 

[juddles]

Yes, I guess the one common denominator of all the attempted and successful terrorist plots has been a half wit making a big deal to attract attention to themselves (and perhaps even giving away that they have planted a bomb) before the plane has even taken off...

I hear you But I have seen many a cough in a scolded situation going off the deep end and eventually saying enough that standard procedures would force staff to take standard actions.

One thing I am not clear about with the story is were the other pax removed after the fool, at the same time, or before? As usual, seems a lightweight story, accuracy-wise.

 

[awilcockson]

Is this the USA's stupidest traveller?"

Nope. That would be the American lady I followed through security in Orlando.

Lady (as she approaches x-ray machine with a full size air rifle in her hand):
"Can I put this through here?"
TSA: "Yes you can, but you won't be getting it back?"
Lady (all offended): "Why not, it's just an air rifle?"

Me: scurried through security so as not to get caught up in the rapidly escalating incident.

Seriously, has she not watched the news in the last 10 years?

 

[TonyHancock]

• It's not very clear from the article, but at a guess the disruption happened once the flight had already had doors closed and cleared to go. After the aircraft had to return to the terminal, the doors were opened and the cabin is deemed no longer secure. So offload everyone and rescreen.

I have not specifically flown from JAN, but is the scenario no different from an aircraft landing and pax catching a connecting flight going to the next gate, if it is is in the same terminal, without being rescreened. From memory if clearing security at a domestic US airport and having multiple domestic connections before catching an international flight there will be no further rescreens.