Did Shoe Bomber Richard Reid Win In The End?

by Gary Leff

airport security
Sep 04 2021

Richard Reid, the “Shoe Bomber”, is a British career criminal who converted to Islam in prison and came a member of Al Qaeda. He attempted to blow up American Airlines flight 63 from Paris to Miami on December 22, 2001. The plot was foiled by several factors, from high humidity to Reid’s own perspiration dampening the fuse along with another passenger smelling smoke.

He was arrested, charged, convicted and eventually given 3 life sentences plus 110 years in prison without the possibility of parole.

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United Airlines Had To Track Down Passengers They Let Skip Immigration On Friday

by Gary Leff

Sep 03 2021

Friday afternoon’s United Airlines flight from Dubrovnik to Newark was delayed about an hour and a half on departure. On arrival passengers were let off the aircraft and staff opened a door into the terminal instead of directing passengers to immigration and customs.

The mistake was caught quickly, and as one passenger on the flight put it, the airline worked to “round up all of the people that headed off into the terminal.” Passengers were then held “until they figure out what to do next.”

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How Would You Feel Boarding This American Airlines Flight?

by Gary Leff

Sep 03 2021

A passenger passes along a photo from on board Thursday’s American Airlines flight AA3145. The SkyWest Bombardier CRJ-700 (registration N716EV) was headed from Phoenix to Santa Rosa.

This 18 year old CR7, ex-Atlantic Southeast and ExpressJet, moved over to Skywest in December 2018 and sat in storage until Feb 2021. And the interior looked like it should never have been taken out of storage.

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Viral Video Shows Drunk American Airlines Passenger Denied Boarding

by Gary Leff

Sep 03 2021

Video circulating in social media shows a man being denied boarding on an American Airlines flight at Dallas – Fort Worth because he’s reportedly drunk. He complains that he’s trying to fly to see his fiance, slurring his words about a non-refundable ticket and asking over and over “why I can’t go?”

He eventually gives up, realizing he won’t be allowed to board. It’s an incident in 3 acts, and three videos. The first shows the confrontation with the gate agent. The second shows him hunched over his carry on near gate A9. And the third shows him being taken away by police.

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