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AirTran e-mail stirs up Internet firestorm -with video (FAA now investigating)
KHOU ^ | 12-3-09 | Leigh Frillici

Posted on 12/04/2009 12:03:40 AM PST by STARWISE

The FAA is investigating an incident aboard an AirTran flight from Atlanta to Houston that touched off a firestorm of e-mails.

AirTran Flight 297 was delayed on November 17 after a passenger refused to turn off his cell phone.

*snip*

According to the e-mail, Petruna and other passengers believed they witnessed a dry run for a terrorist attack. Petruna said he couldn’t talk on camera, but Chaplain Keith Robinson, who was also on the flight, did talk with us.

*snip*

“Flight attendants were sobbing openly,” Robinson said. Robinson said a passenger getting off the plane warned him not to get on.

“He said ‘I just saw them there were these Middle Eastern men. They were taking pictures. They wouldn’t sit down, ‘” Robinson said. “Besides that, he said a couple of them were making gestures with their hand as if they were shooting people.”

Petruna’s e-mail said there were 11 Muslims on the plane and two of them ignored flight attendants orders to turn off their cell phones. He said they shouted at the flight attendants and he and another Texan had to intervene.

Petruna said the 11 men were taken off the plane, but then allowed back on, angering the crew and some passengers.

(Excerpt) Read more at khou.com ...


TOPICS: Front Page News; Government
KEYWORDS: airlinesecurity; airtran; airtranflight297; dryrun; faa; flight297; muslims
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To: Husker24
I cant imagine real terrorists would be so stupid as to create a scene.

If they do this a few times they will lower the standard for setting off any alarms. It has happened before and we can see that here they were escorted back onto the plane by TSA agents. Agents who tried to order other passengers to quiet down and stay put.

The passengers that stayed and the new crew that came on were psychologically neutered at that point. Everybody would have been afraid to confront the camel jockeys again for anything short of a full-on hi-jacking. Might be sued or accused of a hate crime ya know. The flight crew might get that plus lose their jobs.

41 posted on 12/04/2009 11:40:44 AM PST by TigersEye (Sarah Palin 2010 - We Can't Afford To Wait)
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To: TigersEye

“The passengers that stayed and the new crew that came on were psychologically neutered at that point.”

excellent point


42 posted on 12/04/2009 1:33:59 PM PST by thouworm
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To: thouworm

PC at work.


43 posted on 12/04/2009 3:09:01 PM PST by TigersEye (Sarah Palin 2010 - We Can't Afford To Wait)
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To: StolarStorm

Lots of people on Free Republic quote Snopes as if it’s reliable.

I often get the same feeling arguing with people around here. I remember one person used Snopes to tell me stories of anti-Christian bias were all made up.

Some people just act as if Snopes is some sort of all-knowing oracle.


44 posted on 12/05/2009 7:15:31 AM PST by MichiganConservative (Abolish the IRS, income tax, the 16th amendment and the Federal Reserve. Replace them with nothing.)
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To: STARWISE

AirTran has confirmed that Tedd Petruna was never on the plane. They debunk this issue pretty throughly on their own website:

http://www.insideairtran.com/?p=2200

Petruna didn’t even arrive in Atlanta until well after Flight 297 was already boarded. This is just some loser trying to get his 15 minutes of fame. Seems there is a lot of that going around lately.


45 posted on 12/05/2009 12:11:02 PM PST by truthfree
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To: Husker24

I think it is more than cash that they are interested in. They could be trying to intimidate the airlines into not following anti-terrorist safety regulations. They already won in the courts with the flying imams. There have been other similar disruptive incidents as well. They are learning how to play the system with the assistance of the ACLU which has a large national network of ACLU judges in the courts who will always side with the criminal/terrorists.

If they succeed in intimidating the airlines, then any crew or employees who speak up will be disciplined or fired. They intimidate the people at the top of the corporation who only want peace so they buy off the muslims. The muslims are looking for cowards in high places whether in the corporate world, politics or the military. Look at how that General Casey at Fort Hood was turned into a mouthpiece for Obama. He was under orders from Obama. We are all under orders from our employers. The muslims know this so they go right to the top of the government and business. They know that if they intimidate the leadership, the leaders will throw us under the bus in order to keep peace with the muslims.


46 posted on 12/05/2009 12:20:46 PM PST by cradle of freedom (Long live the Republic !)
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To: truthfree; penelopesire; seekthetruth; television is just wrong; jcsjcm; BP2; Pablo Mac; ...

OMG ... he’s a fraud .. did this as a hoax ??

And the chaplain .. he said he saw the red-faced, crying
attendants coming off the flight ..

WT ...????

This is crazy ... please post any further info y’all may find.

Just found that the Northeast Intelligence Network
(Doug Hagmann’s site, was taken offline .. appears
to be back up.

http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/17563


47 posted on 12/05/2009 12:53:01 PM PST by STARWISE (They (LIBS-STILL) think of this WOT as Bush's war, not America's war- Richard Miniter)
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To: StolarStorm
To some, snopes is like the bible. How do I convince them otherwise?

Snopes is great for debunking many urban legends about waking up in a bathtub of ice minus a kidney, or pending legislation that will tax every email. But they're out of their league on bigger stories. This couple does not have the resources to break through bureaucracies whose job it is to supress info. The Snopes report on this story merely rehashes the Atlanta Journal Constitution article, which a careful reading shows actually CONFIRMS a serious enough incident to turn the plane around, disembark passengers, and reboard a new crew.

Tactically, my advice would be: Don't make the discussion about Snopes at all. Leave the Petruna letter out of the mix altogether and concentrate on the bottom line for facts not in dispute: The original crew left the craft and refused to fly. This speaks far more powerfully than dithering about whether it was a camera or a cell phone, Spanish or Arabic. Since none of us knows for sure what happened on that plane, the goal is to get people to think about what makes sense and to keep an open mind.

48 posted on 12/05/2009 12:59:30 PM PST by Eroteme
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To: StolarStorm

Keep up the fight, our Country depends on it. Not to mention it pisses off libs.

Pray for America’s Freedom


49 posted on 12/05/2009 1:02:10 PM PST by bray (Palin can see the White House from her Porch)
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To: STARWISE; truthfree

Petruna’s story and AirTran’s versions could both be crocks. The underlying story is the same: Something serious enough occurred on this aircraft to get the pilot to turn the plane around, disembark passengers, assemble a new crew, and take off again hours late, minus two incident passengers, original crew, and a dozen others who chose not to take later flights. Just the details and drama vary.


50 posted on 12/05/2009 1:18:22 PM PST by Eroteme
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To: STARWISE; rxsid; Fred Nerks; null and void; stockpirate; george76; PhilDragoo; Candor7; GOPJ; ...
What ever happened, these Muzzies caused the pilot to return the air craft to the terminal after it had left.

This is something to remember. Why did they do that?

And if it is a fraud why is the HS warning about air travel on high alert?

Homeland Security Live Alert

No, we still do not have the whole story, and we still have a high alert status with the DHS. Something is up and we are not being told the whole story. We do at this time have many Muslims returning from haj to Mecca.

51 posted on 12/05/2009 4:32:03 PM PST by Candor7 ((The effective weapons Against Fascism are ridicule, derision, and truth (.Member NRA))
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To: Candor7

When is da bam leaving for Copenhagen? I might have heard, but been so busy with the RINO thing, I haven’t been homing in. Am now though. This is too coinkidink.


52 posted on 12/05/2009 4:44:46 PM PST by MestaMachine (Your CORE is the path you walk. RINOs don't walk paths, they build roads to nowhere..)
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To: STARWISE

Two words:

Cover. Up.


53 posted on 12/05/2009 4:51:15 PM PST by null and void (We are now in day 318 of our national holiday from reality. - 0bama really isn't one of US.)
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To: StolarStorm

I believe that Snopes is a left-leaning site. At least, I’ve read that many times on FreeRepublic, etc. When there’s a left vs. right issue, I never count on info coming from Snopes.


54 posted on 12/05/2009 4:53:32 PM PST by MayflowerMadam (If it's not close, they can't cheat.)
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To: Hardastarboard

“Wikipedia says they’re apolitical...”

Besides Snopes being leftist, I believe that Wikipedia is as well. Who can you trust? I trust the myriad of passengers who observed everything.


55 posted on 12/05/2009 4:57:13 PM PST by MayflowerMadam (If it's not close, they can't cheat.)
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To: MestaMachine

I think the Oblastard is heading out tommorrow , he has to be there on Monday?

Nasty things happen when he is OoC. Its a pattern.


56 posted on 12/05/2009 5:05:50 PM PST by Candor7 ((The effective weapons Against Fascism are ridicule, derision, and truth (.Member NRA))
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To: STARWISE; StolarStorm

. . . ahhhhh . . . .

The FAA . . . sooooo experienced in covering so much up . . .

Should be quite skillful in sanitizing this and shoving it yet again under the rug with whatever list of disinfo thrown into the mix to accomplish it.

Color me . . . jaded . . .


57 posted on 12/05/2009 5:16:23 PM PST by Quix (POL Ldrs quotes fm1900 TRAITORS http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/2130557/posts?page=81#81)
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To: Quix; STARWISE

http://www.ajc.com/business/airtran-hero-wasn-t-226517.html

something stinks with this story...


58 posted on 12/05/2009 5:17:56 PM PST by bitt (You canÂ’t make a weak man strong by making a strong man weak (Abraham Lincoln))
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To: Candor7

Going up to the Hill to lend his “aura” to the death care bill tomorrow. then if they pass this thing in another midnight vote...
I am getting very, very antsy, Candor.


59 posted on 12/05/2009 5:18:32 PM PST by MestaMachine (Your CORE is the path you walk. RINOs don't walk paths, they build roads to nowhere..)
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To: TigersEye

NOR . . .

the F_I
the C_A
the F_A
the White House
the Media
the Homeland Insecurity
the NEA
the Federal bureaucracy
the DIMRATS
the GOP
the . . .


60 posted on 12/05/2009 5:25:15 PM PST by Quix (POL Ldrs quotes fm1900 TRAITORS http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/2130557/posts?page=81#81)
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