Sowas gibts nur in den USA....

[N5528P]

Laufend Nachschub

Suspicious passenger taken into custody

Thursday, January 5, 2006 Posted: 1431 GMT (2231 HKT)

SAN FRANCISCO, California (Reuters) -- An airline passenger with the words "suicide bomber" written in his journal was arrested when his plane arrived in San Jose, California, on Wednesday, but the words appeared to refer to music and he was later released, officials said.

"A male was observed by his fellow passengers as having a journal and handwritten on the journal were the words 'suicide bomber,'" FBI spokeswoman LaRae Quy said.

"That, combined with the fact that he was clutching a backpack, and then finally he was acting a little suspiciously" prompted law enforcement to act.

Authorities boarded the plane and detained the man on the Frontier Airlines plane on charges of being under the influence of drugs or alcohol. But the words "suicide bomber" in his journal appeared related to music, the FBI spokeswoman said.

"Preliminary, what we believe is that that was the name of either a band or a song," Quy said.

San Jose police later released the 36-year-old San Jose area man and did not charge him with any crime, a police spokeswoman said.

Originalbeitrag zu finden unter: http://edition.cnn.com/2006/TRAVEL/01/05/life.passenger.reut/index.html

[N5528P]

Security ordeal for Qantas boss

Wednesday, January 11, 2006 Posted: 0158 GMT (0958 HKT)

SYDNEY, Australia (CNN) -- The female head of Australia's major air carrier was suspected of being a terrorist at a U.S. airport because a security guard refused to believe a woman could run an airline.



Qantas Airways chairman Margaret Jackson has said she was detained and frisked at Los Angeles airport last year after a search revealed she was carrying aircraft diagrams in her briefcase.

Jackson gave details of the incident at a media conference in Beijing, China on Tuesday, in response to a question over the strictness of security at Australian airports.

She said her briefcase had contained detailed plans of a new aircraft, including cross-section diagrams showing seat layouts, Australian newspaper the Herald Sun newspaper reported Wednesday.

"The guy said 'Why have you got all of this?'," she said.

"And I said, 'I'm the chairman of an airline. I'm the chairman of Qantas'. And this black guy, who was, like, eight foot tall, said, 'But you're a woman'."

After proving her identity, Jackson produced paper with her letterhead on it and wrote a note to the guard, whose name was Bill.

"And I wrote, 'Dear Bill, this is from the chairman of Qantas, who is a woman'," the newspaper reported.

Jackson was in China to promote direct flights between Sydney, Australia and Beijing.

Originalbeitrag zu finden unter: http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/01/10/qantas.security/index.html

[N5528P]

Sprengstoff erkannt, Pax macht falsche Angaben Boarding
Baby auf Terroristenliste Denied Boarding

TSA: 'We Didn't Take A Picture Of Him'
TSA Questions, Releases, Shoe-Bomb Suspect

If there was a reality show about the TSA, it would play like a comedy. According to writer Annie Jacobsen writing in Women's Wall Street (yes, the same writer who covered the "terrorists" who turned out to be a band of Syrian musicians), security screeners became suspicious of an Arab
man traveling under the name Gamal Badawi for several reasons, not
least of which the tape and rubber bands festooning his new high-top sneakers.

He claimed to be a student at Iowa State, which was odd because he was 50 years old (maybe he's in Delta House, taking the "long course?" Toga!). The TSA examined Badawi's shoes, which tested positive for explosive residue using TSA's field test equipment (which gives rapid results, but is prone to false positives).

The computer system for checking Badawi's finger prints was down, and ultimately, they decided to let him catch his plane -- in his stocking feet. They confiscated his shoes.

When the TSA handed over their evidence to the FBI, the FBI took the shoes and the excellent pictures of the shoes the TSA agents had taken. Then, they asked for a picture of the suspect.

"Oh. We didn't take a picture of him, just his shoes." Keystone Cops?

"Gamal Badawi" probably didn't ring a bell with you, and it didn't with the TSA, but the FBI figured it out. It's the name of the Yemeni Al-Qaeda leader who organized the attack on the USS Cole, and then later escaped from prison. (However, this Badawi does not physically resemble that
Badawi. And readers are cauutioned that names get recycled a lot in
the Arab world, for the most innocent of reasons).

The good news is that the FBI determined that there was no explosive residue in the shoes -- the initial test may have been a false positive.

"Badawi" may have been a dry run probe, meant to expose security procedures and techniques to enemy planners, before they begin planning an actual attack. Of it could just have been a case of a guy with weird ideas about decorating his shoes.

Next time, though, they'll take a picture of the guy they question, and not just his Reeboks. Hey, they promised. And who can you trust, if you can't trust the TSA?

Originalbeitrag zu finden unter:

[N5528P]

January 25, 2006
Feds Agree to Pay ACLU Over No - Fly List

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Two federal agencies agreed Tuesday to pay the American Civil Liberties Union $200,000 to settle a lawsuit brought to uncover information about the government's no-fly list, which bars suspected terrorists from airliners. The government will compensate the ACLU for attorneys' fees, settling a lawsuit initiated by two San Francisco peace activists who were detained while checking in for a flight three years ago.

In October 2004, documents that the FBI and Transportation Security Administration provided in the lawsuit revealed the government has ''two primary principles'' but no ''hard and fast'' rules for deciding who gets put on the secret list. The 301 pages of redacted documents, lodged in federal court in San Francisco in 2004, also said the secret list grew from 16 names the day of the Sept. 11 terror attacks to 594 by mid-December 2001. The list now is believed to carry thousands of names.

The documents were released as part of a lawsuit brought on behalf of Rebecca Gordon and Janet Adams, who co-publish a newsletter critical of the Bush administration. They were stopped while checking in for a San Francisco flight to Boston three years ago and detained until cleared for travel.

They and the ACLU invoked the Freedom of Information Act to demand that the government explain how people get on and off watchlists. The FBI did not immediately comment on the settlement, and the TSA did not immediately return messages. The agencies at first balked at supplying any information to the ACLU. But U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, after privately reviewing secret government data, said the government was making ''frivolous claims'' about why it could not.

The ACLU decided to seek compensation, allowed under the FOIA, after it obtained all the information it believed it could get from the government.
One heavily redacted document says getting on a list is guided by two ''primary'' principles: Whether various intelligence agencies view an individual as a ''potential threat to U.S. civil aviation,'' and whether the agency requesting a listing has provided enough information to identify the person to be flagged at check-in.

The documents disclosed that people are regularly removed from lists if the FBI is convinced they are not a threat.

Originalartikel zu finden unter: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-No-Fly-List.html?_r=2

[N5528P]

Und wieder eine Episode...

Man stelle sich vor, manche Leute haben mehrere Fliegerheftl mit auf einem Langstreckenflug...

Men detained 3 hours for school materials
FBI: Israeli, four Angolans on airliner posed no threat

NEWARK, New Jersey (AP) -- Five airline passengers speaking in foreign languages and carrying "aircraft flight materials" were briefly detained Saturday until authorities determined they were simply returning to their home countries after attending a U.S. helicopter training school.

Fellow passengers on American Airlines Flight 1874, which had departed from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, became suspicious of the men, said Steven Siegel, a spokesman for the FBI's Newark office. A federal marshal on the plane notified authorities at Newark Liberty International Airport about the men's behavior.

The men -- identified only as four Angolan military personnel and an Israeli -- had attended helicopter training school in Texas, Siegel said.
Police officers from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airport, took the men into custody soon after the plane landed around 3:20 p.m., said a Port Authority spokesman. After being questioned by authorities, the men were released around 6 p.m., Siegel said.

The plane was carrying 121 passengers and five crew members. All other passengers had been released.

Originalbeitrag zu finden unter: http://edition.cnn.com/2006/US/05/06/passengers.detained.ap/index.html

[Christoph]

Was lernen wir daraus: Wenn ihr mit einer Ami-Linie fliegt, nur Englisch reden (bitte akzentfrei!) und in Gottes Namen nehmt bitte keine Aero-Heftln mit in den Flieger...

[N5528P]

... und in Gottes Namen nehmt bitte keine Aero-Heftln mit in den Flieger...

Das AERO wäre schon ein Grund

Bernhard

[alexernst]

Hi!
Der ganze unfug, den die anstellen is... naja!
Aber soweit ich weiß, kannst du auf der no fly liste stehen ohne es zu wissen und da hört sich der spass auf!

lg
Alex

[N5528P]

Aber soweit ich weiß, kannst du auf der no fly liste stehen ohne es zu wissen und da hört sich der spass auf!

Nicht nur das, es gibt auch kein Procedere wieder gelöscht zu werden. Die können Dir gar nicht sagen wem du beweisen sollst, dass du ein Lieber bist und kein Böser...

Oder auch Säuglinge.

Bernhard

[N5528P]

US Lawmaker Wants Limits On A380 Airport Upgrades
June 24, 2006

A senior Republican lawmaker influential on transportation matters said on Friday he wants Congress to prohibit US airports from spending federal funds on upgrades to accommodate the European-made superjumbo Airbus A380.

"Until a US airline chooses to acquire and operate the passenger version of the A380, foreign airlines that operate A380 passenger service to and from the United States should pay for any needed infrastructure improvements at the airports they serve," US Rep. John Mica, a Florida Republican, said in a statement.

Mica is chairman of the House of Representatives transportation subcommittee on aviation.

About 50 percent of the cost for A380-related upgrades would be financed through federal airport grants. So far, Los Angeles (LAX), New York's John F. Kennedy, Miami and San Francisco are preparing for A380 passenger service. Several other airports are evaluating A380 passenger and cargo development to see if carriers they serve will fly it.

Airbus has struggled with its schedule to deliver the USD$300 million double-decker aircraft to its foreign customers. The first plane is scheduled for later this year with six- to seven-month delivery delays expected after that. A380 customers include Australia's Qantas Airways, Dubai-based Emirates, China Southern, and Singapore Airlines.

The A380 is slated to be the biggest passenger jet ever flown with room to seat between 550 and 850 passengers, depending on its configuration.

Because of the A380's size -- a 262-foot wingspan and a maximum takeoff weight of 1.2 million pounds -- airports, in some cases, may have to widen runways and taxiways and restructure gate areas to handle more people.

Mica released findings of a Government Accountability Office report that estimated the cost to upgrade infrastructure at US airports to accommodate the A380 could reach USD$927 million, if major work is required.

One airport industry executive called the GAO figure high and included costs that may never be required. Also, prohibiting federal grants for A380 construction may hurt airports that need to make certain upgrades for existing customers anyway. For instance, JFK is strengthening four bridges to support the A380 as well as the next generation Boeing jumbo jet, the 747-8 Intercontinental, that will also weigh more than 1 million pounds.

Mica's statement exploits a hot-button transatlantic political issue -- the role of European governments in the development of Airbus planes and how that affects business at its chief rival, Boeing. It also taps into strong election-year "Buy America" sentiment in Congress.

Mica said in a statement that it was "patently unfair" for taxpayers to pay for A380-related airport upgrades in light of the help that Europe gives Airbus. The Bush administration has challenged European government loans for Airbus that it says are illegal subsidies under global trade rules.

In a counter complaint, the European Union alleged that Boeing benefits from indirect subsidies ranging from state tax breaks to government research and development contracts.

Originalbeitrag zu finden unter: http://news.airwise.com/story/view/1151149680.html

[maxmobil]

Wenn Boeing ein gleich großes Gerät entwickeln würde dann wäre das natürlich kein Problem für den Herrn unvoreingenommenne Politiker

[N5528P]

ANOTHER AIRLINE CONTROVERSY
Wednesday, July 12, 2006 - FreeMarketNews.com

A man boarded a plane at Houston's Hobby Airport last week despite having what appeared to be bomb components among his carry-on luggage, according to a Houston Chronicle report.

During the pre-flight screening the man, reportedly of Middle Eastern heritage, denied the presence of a laptop computer in his baggage, but the X-ray screening of the bag detected one, leading to a search of the bag that revealed a clock with a battery taped to it, along with a copy of the Quran.

Meanwhile, the man's was physically examined, where it was found that the "entire soles of both shoes were gutted out." No explosives were found, and the man was cleared for boarding, although a Transportation Security Administration screener then argued with the Houston police officer who had waved the man through to the waiting area. The FBI has since investigated and "deemed [it] a non-event," while the officer has been "transferred to a desk job." - ST

freemarketnews.com