Airline Passenger Mistakes Vintage Camera for a Bomb
I feel sorry for the accused:
The “security incident” that forced a New-York bound flight to make an emergency landing at LaGuardia Airport on Saturday turned out to be a misunderstanding—after an airline passenger mistook another traveler’s camera for a bomb, sources said Sunday.
American Airlines Flight 4817 from Indianapolis—operated by Republic Airways—made an emergency landing at LaGuardia just after 3 p.m., and authorities took a suspicious passenger into custody for several hours.
It turns out the would-be “bomber” was just a vintage camera aficionado and the woman who reported him made a mistake, sources said.
Why in the world was the passenger in custody for “several hours”? They didn’t do anything wrong.
Back in 2007, I called this the “war on the unexpected.” It’s why “see something, say something” doesn’t work. If you put amateurs in the front lines of security, don’t be surprised when you get amateur security. I have lots of examples.
Leo • October 12, 2021 10:24 AM
I don’t understand the response here.
TSA is scanning checked and carry on bags.
What are the odds that a passenger will be able to sneak a bomb onto a plane (let’s call it 5:1), and then calmly expose that bomb to their seat-mate, but NOT detonate it? Is real life so much like Hollywood that the villain gives the hero the opportunity to save the day during their long soliloquy of how their plan was perfect? Is the cost of diverting a plane so low that the reasoned response is to land the plane?
What’s the risk of having a flight attendant analyze the situation at greater depth; they ARE there for our security…
Amateur security is one thing – this appears to be rank stupidity.