British Airways Flight 216 Held at Dulles Airport Tonight

Local Channel 9 | Thursday, January 1, 2004 | Kristinn

[kristinn]

WUSA-TV 9 in Washington, D.C. reported on their 11 p.m. news that yet another British Airways flight is being scrutinized by federal agents at Dulles Airport.

Flight 216, scheduled to depart hours ago, is being kept from takeoff while its passengers and luggage are rescreened.

[bcoffey]

Here we go again.

[LikeLight]

Wow . . . somebody is seriously concerned about something here . . . this is getting very intriguing . . .

[mitchbert]

Ping

[MEG33]

Sounds like they are taking this " chatter" very seriously!

[nopardons]

I wish they'd explain, atger is okay too, what's going on. Is there ANY news, at all, as to what happened re the other one ?

[leadpenny]

Looking for another drunk TSA official no doubt.

[bcoffey]

flightarrivals.com says the flight was supposed to have departed IAD at 6:36 pm EST but still not departed nearly FIVE hours later. Must be some security screen.

[Ex-Dem]

Again? At least this one isn't another Flight 223. I think we've had two of those stopped in as many days.

[kristinn]

According to the BA Website, Flight 216 was scheduled to depart at 6:36 p.m. EST from IAD destination Heathrow. Status listed as "not departed."

[LikeLight]

Destination would be Heathrow (London) . . . if they ever let it go . . .

[Iowa Granny]

I wish someone could tell us if they are give particular attention to certain passengers or if everyone is going thru the same routine.

Do they need to employee new screeners? Are these people not doing their jobs?

Is the news media asking these questions? There really should be an explaination as to why the inspections weren't done properly the first time. We have no control over what happens in other nations, so I have no problem with the extra screening which occurred last night. But this is goofy. If our baggage screeners were doing their jobs properly, a second screening shouldn't be necessary.

Makes me wonder if they are playing games with the departure schedule for some other reason.

[RaceBannon]

Kewel!

[nwctwx]

This certainly gets more and more interesting with time...

[kristinn]

I'm sure there's quite a few drunks at Dulles tonight.

[leadpenny]

Here's a side problem with these delays: The flight crews will start to bump up against crew-rest restrictions.

[tgslTakoma]

Here's the Dulles airport page. You can search by flight, airline, etc.

What interesting times we are living in.

[browardchad]

Is the same plane that came in last night? If so, they might suspect some sort of transfer occuring on the planes themselves -- something that screening machines wouldn't pick up and regular cleaning might not find. Or maybe they've already found that something, and are trying to find the intended recipient...

[leadpenny]

Time to spare - Go by air!

Guess Amtrak doesn't go to London, however.

[bcoffey]

What interesting times we are living in.

True... but how much more interesting it would be if we had a clue as to what's going on with BA and IAD!

[kristinn]

Yep. Good point.

[leadpenny]

That's the good part. The bad guys are wondering too.

[tgslTakoma]

I might take up heavy drinking, if it gets much more interesting..

[Amelia]

Is the same plane that came in last night? If so, they might suspect some sort of transfer occuring on the planes themselves -- something that screening machines wouldn't pick up and regular cleaning might not find.

Good thought.

[nicmarlo]

Wow...there is something definitely going on....this is very abnormal....it's like they know something, and they're thisclose to knowing exactly what they need to know....

[lchoro]

Passenger David Litwick told WJLA-TV in Washington that he and his wife were not questioned, but at least one other passenger was. Litwick said four FBI agents spoke to a woman who appeared to be from the Middle East, repeatedly asking her why she was not traveling with her husband.

http://www.wtopnews.com/index.php?nid=25&sid=156735

[leadpenny]

No one is telling Matt Drudge anything either. If they are, he ain't telling us.

[Johnny_Cipher]

Here we go again BUMP.

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

Drudge is sleeping it off.

[bcoffey]

WTOP News update - 11:30 pm EST

Cancellations/delays due to terrorist concerns

BA 216 held because of a non-specific threat

That's all they said.

[kristinn]

WUSA reports the flight has finally taken off.

[leadpenny]

:)

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

Or another possibility is the other side is smoking out their rats and their comm's weaknesses. Doubtful but possible.

[tgslTakoma]

I think I'd be drinking heavily if I was on that flight. Now some of you may be wondering if I have a drinking problem... I'm not a drinker. But all this stuff lately is making me rethink that "lifestyle choice."

[null and void]

Say! Has anyone seen Caddy Shack???

[nicmarlo]

 Information updated 1 minute ago.  
 
 BA0216 IAD LHR 01JAN
Scheduled Departure time: 18:35 01JAN 
Actual:  22:07  

[Johnny_Cipher]

Heh. Not on your tintype.

[Amelia]

Reckon we need to follow it across the ocean with "Flighttracker" to make sure it gets to Heathrow?

And does Flighttracker track where it IS, or where it's SUPPOSED to be?

[null and void]

LOL!

[nicmarlo]

Really, the possibilities are endless.....but, IMHO, "we" know something definite is up.....but may lack the perfect specifics....perhaps known is 95.9% ?

[Diver Dave]

Wow! Another one.
Our daughter, s-i-l and grandson flew into San Francisco this afternoon aboard a BA flight.
She figured that it would be a safe flight given the fact that the route took them over Canada. What's Canada got worth attacking? :)
Then, San Francisco is safe from terrorists cuz it can't get screwed up any worse than what the libs and gays have already created.

[Amelia]

Airline crews notice suspicious behavior daily

[kristinn]

You guys can stay up all night for that. I'm going to try to go to bed soon.

[bcoffey]

I'm going to try to go to bed soon.

Me too -- I wonder if we'll be doing this again tomorrow night.

[onyx]

Good link, Amelia. I don't know what to make of these events, do you? I am thankful our people are being so cautious, careful and vigilant.

[af_vet_1981]

This is good. They are doing their best to prevent terrorist attacks.

[Amelia]

I'm going to try to go to bed soon.

Me too, but you know this place is like a bar that never closes!

[Amelia]

I don't know what to make of these events, do you? I am thankful our people are being so cautious, careful and vigilant.

I don't know what to make of it either....I just hope that people don't start regarding it as "much ado about nothing"....

[bcoffey]

Any updates?

flightarrivals.com still shows the flight as "not departed." That could mean it left the gate at 11:02 pm as you reported but hasn't yet taken off.

Or it could mean that the web site didn't update their info.

[kayak]

Man Restrained After Approaching Cockpit

From Drudge ~~~ In an incident over the Pacific on Thursday night, a passenger on a Northwest Airlines flight from Detroit to Honolulu had to be restrained after he approached the cockpit, airline officials said. The man was escorted to the back of the plane by two off-duty pilots who happened to be on board and was arrested when the plane landed. Thomas Becher, a spokesman for Northwest, said he could not say whether the incident was related to terrorism... Developing...