Hmmm . . . Yet Another Dry Run?: United 227 Sounds Just Like AirTran 297

RRA comments:

Why "dry runs" on the ground prior to takeoff, involving behavior pretty much guaranteed to get them thrown off the plane or at least frisked and delayed because it violates basic rules regarding takeoff?

James Woods witnessed a very subtle "dry run" by several of the hijackers about a month prior to 9/11. Annie Jacobsen witnessed what looked like either a dry run or actual attempt at mixing a bomb in flight. Woods' information was not acted upon, and Jacobsen got about the same treatment as the AirTran passengers.

Now we have two incidents of disruptive behavior prior to takeoff occurring within about a month of each other. So far neither provocation has resulted in a lawsuit. Why bother engaging in this behavior while still on the runway? Are these men testing the limits, trying to flush out the air marshals, just being arrogant Islamic jerks, or what?

From Debbie Schlussel

For those doubters who mocked me and chose to believe a lying AirTran over passenger Tedd J. Petruna regarding what happened on AirTran Flight 297 on November 17th, you might wanna start mocking the passengers of Wednesday’s United 227, too. Oh, and maybe you might wanna start calling former NFL coach Mike Shanahan a nut, too. He was on the flight.

It’s yet another flight grounded because Middle Eastern men tried to create havoc, test the system, and likely do a dry run. It’s almost an identical scenario with flight attendants scared out of their minds, etc.

But, hey, nothing to see here, move along. You know the drill: we’re just “bigots”. Uh-huh. So what happened on this flight? Why was a bomb-sniffing K9 brought in? And why were several “Middle-Eastern” men escorted off? Huh?

It’s not entirely clear why some passengers were removed from a plane at Denver International Airport on Wednesday. United Airlines issued a statement suggesting that the passengers were “re-accommodated” onto another flight.

A spokesperson for the Denver Police Department confirms to 9NEWS that Denver Police officers were called to DIA on Wednesday, but declined to elaborate any further.

Flight 227 left DIA bound for Los Angeles nearly three hours late. It was scheduled to depart at 1:50 p.m., but ended up leaving at 4:32 p.m.

“Our crew followed recognized, industry standard procedures and re-accommodated some passengers on another flight. We are investigating this matter,” read a Thursday morning statement from United. A United spokesperson declined to elaborate any further as well.

The United crew apparently noticed certain patterns they are trained to spot. Sources tell NBC News airline employees are trained to look for certain behaviors such as how a ticket is paid for, how often passengers get up to use the restroom, and even who their traveling companions are.

A spokesperson for the FBI, Kathy Wright, confirmed to 9NEWS that federal investigators were originally called to the scene after receiving a call on a “possible suspicious incident.” Wright said eventually “we determined that it was not an FBI matter.”

Passengers say a bomb-sniffing dog was brought onto the plane and passengers in the first-class cabin we’re asked to go back to coach for a brief amount of time according to passengers on the plane.

John Sloan of Oxnard, California, was on board the flight on Wednesday.

“I have never seen flight attendants so scared in my life. Everything turned out OK, but it was not a very good feeling. It would have been nice to have been updated though this process,” he told 9NEWS by phone.

Sloan says seven men were escorted off of the plane. Two of them were sitting in coach. The other five were sitting in first-class, he says. All were re-booked onto another flight according to United.

Sloan says the men were attempting to change seats with other passengers. Another passenger, who doesn’t want his name used, says the men were also trying to move luggage while the plane was getting ready to push back.

Passengers tell 9NEWS all of the men looked to be “Middle Eastern,” but United will not confirm the identity of the seven men.

Nothing criminal was found, and the flight was allowed to continue on to California.

Passengers also tell 9NEWS that former head coach of the Denver Broncos, Mike Shanahan, was seated in first class while this was all going on. Shanahan could not be reached for comment, and a spokesperson for the former coach simply told 9NEWS that he was “out of town.”

But, hey, I and the passengers and the flight attendants and the K9 are all just nuts, right? There’s nothing to fear here. Tell me that the next time you’re on a flight with several Middle Eastern men who are escorted off with a bomb-sniffing animal brought in.

If there was nothing going on here, United wouldn’t still be “investigating.” So, how long until United starts attacking its passengers the way AirTran did? Perhaps United–which had two planes hijacked on 9/11–gets it.

Flight 297 Passenger: Incident Bigger Than AirTran Claims

Take note, the man quoted in this article is Brent C. Brown, CEO of Chesley-Brown International.

In the body of this article, AirTran claims,

"Because of privacy laws, the airline would not identify any of the men involved in the November incident."

They should clarify that they have no intention of identifying any ME men involved since AirTran had no problem calling Petruna a liar by name!

From WSBTV:

ATLANTA -- Rumors continued to circulate Monday via e-mail and the Internet about what exactly happened on an AirTran flight at HartsfieldJackson Atlanta International Airport in November.

At the time, AirTran told Channel 2 Action News that an unruly passenger on a cell phone forced the pilot to take the plane back to the gate. Monday, a passenger said the situation went well beyond that.

“It was extremely intense. I’ve never experienced anything like that,” said passenger Brent Brown.

Brown runs a security consultant company and is a frequent flier. But even for him, he said the events of Flight 297 were disturbing and frightening. As the Houston-bound flight taxied to the runway, several in a group of about a dozen men of Middle Eastern descent started walking the aisles and using their cell phones, Brown said.

Brown said he could tell from the flight attendants' actions that the situation was more than just a single passenger misbehaving.

"This was a big step ahead of that. You could tell that they were distressed and that they were getting very much uncooperative people in the back," said Brown. "So when the pilot turned the plane around, not only was I not surprised I was proud that he had made that effort to secure the cabin."

Back at the gate, Brown said the situation did not improve. He said he was sitting toward the front and he never saw law enforcement enter the plane. He also said that no one informed passengers of what was going on.

"They weren't speaking to us. And they didn't speak to us at all for at least an hour. Our only interaction was with the crew that was already upset at the way they were obviously being handled," said Brown.

Within days, the incident went viral on the Internet which prompted news coverage. Internet rumor control sites seemingly couldn’t make heads or tails of the incident. AirTran responded by posting an article that called most of the claims an "urban myth."

"And then after the fact, when (AirTran) apparently issued a statement that says, in effect, that this was a customer service issue or someone was on the phone...they're dead wrong," said Brown.

The crew, including the pilots, decided not to continue with the flight. Brown said AirTran put about 10 of the 12-man group back on the plane with a new crew. Most of the original passengers chose not to re-board and instead got on a different flight.

Because of privacy laws, the airline would not identify any of the men involved in the November incident.

An AirTran spokesman called the incident "isolated" and said the airline considers the case closed.

RAW VIDEO: Flight 297 Passenger, Brent Brown Talks About AirTran Incident

Click here to watch the video. (If anyone could upload it to YouTube, that would be a help.)

Thanks to HRW for the transcript:

9:42 RAW VIDEO: Flight 297 Passenger, Brent Brown Talks About AirTran Incident

rough transcript:

Reporter: First of all, your reaction to how this story has taken on a life of it's own since

the actual flight.

Brent: Well, it's incredible. You kind of expect this in the time of the internet but you never

know where it's going to come from. But after coming home and not seeing much about it, kinda thought it was over with. So, it's pretty incredible.

Reporter: It's been what? A couple of weeks now?

Brent: Two and a half

Reporter: Do you still think about it? Is it something that still bothers you?

Brent: Well, I still think that the uh, AirTran company, the officials were dead wrong in what they did in over-riding the crew. I think they mishandled it

from the get go - um - and I would like to hear some real responses from them. So, I think

about it from that respect and I think about it because people are starting to call because they found out that I was on that flight.

Reporter: What about it, air transportation bothers you most?

Brent: Well, when the officials starting getting on the plane, you gotta realize I about five feet from the door, basically, so I can hear and see all the action. But they weren't speaking to us. They didn't speak to us at all for at least an hour. Our only interaction was with the crew that was already upset at the way they were obviously being handled. And then after the fact, they apparently issue a statement that says in effect that this is nothing more than a customer service issue over someone who was on the phone. Then they're dead wrong. The captain did the right thing and should be commended for doing it. That's all I want them to do. Acknowledge that.

Reporter: You've read all the crazies. . .is there. . .the truth I'm sure lies somewhere between what AirTran said and these crazy e-mails out there. Um, what did you first see that raised your, piqued your interest?

Brent: Well, I saw the folks that were on the plane that were of obvious middle eastern descent, which in and of itself doesn't concern me. I fly a lot. They were spread throughout the cabin. I was in business class. What I would refer to as the leader of the group was just one row up and to my left. But I was also right on the edge of the coach section where I can see where some of the people were getting up and down the aisles and looks like they were interacting with each other. There were cell phones or some type of electronic device. That was unsettling, you know.when you can tell that. Also, you are watching, engaging the look of the flight attendants faces. We've all been on flights when someone makes a mistake and stands up or unbuckles during taxi and they come on the intercom and they say take your seats or we can't move the plane. This was a big step ahead of that. You could tell that they were distressed and that they were getting pretty much very uncooperative people in the back.

Reporter: um, and theres all these e-mails people were dancing and singing and they were doing everything. You said it's untrue. Did you see them taking pictures or any . .?

Brent: Nah, from my vantage point I couldn't see that. I was close enough to one of the people in the back, uh, the back compartment, that I could see that one them had come from further in the back to that other person and was interacting with him because I saw the flight attendant tell him to take his seat. Beyond that, and some of the people writing e-mails making themselves heros - obviously they live in a fantasy world and I would challenge whether they were even on the plane. But if they were, the action that they said they took, they would have had to walk right past me and they would have been part of the problem. So, and people making claims that they knew that they were dancing and taking pictures in there, from the vantage point of the business class compartment - it's just simply not true. What they did was concerning enough. The story doesn't need to be embellished.

Reporter: Just the fact that they were walking around interacting

Brent: Walking around, refusing to cooperate, you got to stay in your seat when you taxi out.

Using electronic devices , um, we can argue whether that's a real issue in a flight take off. But that's a rule, an FAA rule they have to contend with. And they were obviously refusing with that. And uh, so when the pilot turned the plane around, not only was I not surprised, I was proud that he had made that effort to secure the cabin.

Reporter: You mentioned especially with the lack of interaction for that hour you got tense.

Brent: It was extremely tense . I've never experienced anything like that. After flying, for company reasons, for more than twenty years now, you can imagine, pretty much everything has happened on a flight . . .and some pretty hair raising experiences. This was like nothing else I've ever experienced. After having been in law enforcement, obviously in the security industry, this was tension at its highest. And I had to make some very real decisions myself, on whether or not I was going to continue the flight.

Reporter: Then you decided to

Brent: I did. What made me decide that was, after two hours of being on the ground, they, um, the rumor was that they were going to put the folks back on the flight. And they did. It appeared that the two biggest problems within the group were not allowed back on the plane. I felt like they had probably, hopefully screened them enough to know that it was at least safe. There also was a mass exodus of the regular passengers getting off the plane. So, I kinda felt like, with fewer passengers we might be able to control things if something were to get out of hand. And frankly, when other AirTran captains that were dead heading to Houston got on board the plane, I talked to a couple of them and one in particular, I said, do you feel safe flying this plane? -flying on this plane? And he said yes, they've done everything they could possibly do now. It's probably the safest plane leaving. So I made the decision to stay on.

Reporter: um, was this any sort of dry run for terrorist activity?

Brent: You never know, but I don't think so. I think it was some people that were probably not just the best citizens for flights. Maybe there was a language barrier. I find that a little difficult to believe that someone flying all the way into this country hasn't flown enough now to know the proper procedures. Um, in the security business we might consider it somewhat of a dry run or test to see what the reaction would be. Um, I still think it's a little far fetched to say that's exactly what it was.

Reporter: And , last question I guess . .. what lesson are we to take out of - not only what happened on that flight - but how it's been handled and become a (???) - does that make any sense?

Brent: It does. First of all I would encourage everyone to stand up for themselves and let their voice be known. That sounds like a simple statement but if um, all those passengers that didn't feel comfortable flying - that exited the plane did exactly the right thing. And uh, you shouldn't be forced to do something you are uncomfortable with. In the security business we tell people all the time, if you don't feel comfortable about something that's part of your security plan - then don't do it. And post Fort Hood I think that we all need to be extremely in tune to how political correctness jeopardizes our security day to day. And uh, be aware of it and figure out what we are going to do about that. You know, I don't want any group singled out - but if there is a security risk - let's not look at it from a pc standpoint. Let's look at it from a security standpoint. Um, beyond that I would tell people that if you're going to embellish a real story - be careful where you post it. Because in this day and environment that's never going to change now - it's going to get out there and you're going to be embarrased that you have embellished something that is already an incredible story.

Reporter : (uninteligible) What would you tell AirTran

8:32

Brent: Well, first and foremost I would tell AirTran that when they have a security situation - have security officials board the plane. The most startling thing that I saw was when the captain turns us around and comes on the intercom and says we have a security situation - and I didn't see a single uniformed law enforcement officer or anyone that I would classify as law enforcement board the plane. I think that's first and foremost. From a customer relations standpoint - you've got to communicate. You can not stand, literally feet away from people that you are affecting their lives, in more ways than just their time, you're affecting and possibly jeopardising their lives and you're not speaking to us. You've got to say something . And when you say something, be honest and accurate. Don't fill us with a bunch of hooey because most of the people that fly, especially at that time of day when it's mostly business passengers , know a little bit more than the basic flight standard. So, talk to us. We can understand delays but you got to tell us what's going on.

AirTran Flight 297 Report Corroborated by Other Posts

Two other blog reports corroborate at least in part the testimony of Tedd Petruna as reported by Rebecca Bynum at New English review. The reports can be found at:

http://oldnfo.blogspot.com/2009/11/testing-testing.html

which includes the following additional information about Petruna:

This has been a subject of discussion amongst a few of us for a couple of weeks. The person's account below is known to three of our group, and he is NOT a whiner or complainer...

He's an ex-Navy diver, working for a government organization; he has travelled extensively world-wide. This is his account of what happened on Flight 297 on the taxiway and at the gate in Atlanta...

and

http://newenglishreview.org/blog_display.cfm/blog_id/24487


Chaplain Dr. Keith A. Robinson is another eyewitness to the incident we reported last night about Air Tran flight 292 from Atlanta to Houston on November 17th.

Follow the link to the pdf file for Robinson's account.