Posted on 04/07/2010 11:08:14 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
DENVER — A Qatari diplomat trying to sneak a smoke in an airplane bathroom sparked a bomb scare Wednesday night on a flight from Washington to Denver, with fighter jets scrambled and law enforcement put on high alert, officials said.
No explosives were found on the man, and officials do not believe he was trying to harm anyone, according to a senior law enforcement officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The incident comes three months after the attempted terror attack on Christmas Day when a Nigerian man tried to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner. Since then, law enforcement, flight crews and passengers have been on high alert for suspicious activity on airplanes. The scare exposed major holes in the country's national security and prompted immediate changes in terror-screening policies.
An Arab diplomat briefed on the matter identified the diplomat as Mohammed Al-Madadi.
Two law enforcement officials said investigators were told the man was asked about the smell of smoke in the bathroom and he made a joke that he had been trying to light his shoes — an apparent reference to the 2001 so-called "shoe bomber" Richard Reid.
(Excerpt) Read more at google.com ...
Maybe...
It was a funny joke....
I found his photo here.
I will never fly on an airplane. It’s become a joke. We need some major profiling first, and then I’ll consider. Also - reinstate cigarette smoking and stuff like this wouldn’t happen. BTW, I quit smoking a month ago, but still think all the Anti-Smoking rules are stupid.
Looks like a young one.
They may want to check that toilet tank.
#%^&$#(.)!
I remember flying on airplanes long after they had banned smoking, but they still had working ashtrays. Usually they were filled with gum wrappers.
What a funny prank by this moslem.
Almost as funny as Omoslem’s “Spread the wealth” quip.
posted some additional info here (see posts 1368, 1389, 1370)
Threat Matrix Thread
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2462221/posts?page=1368#1368
Maybe we could send him the bill for scrambling 2 F-16's, and see if he has a good sense of humor.
I suggest we return him to Qatar at 30,000 feet and terminal velocity with a note stating his diplomatic credentials are revoked....
Nicotine’s a hell of a drug.
Hilarious. What a wit.
practice run?
I agree that this was a practice run. They assume that marshalls would be on flights TO Reagan National and not outbound. SURPRISE!!!!
But Denver is the home of Zazi and assorted other terrorist wannabe’s picked up right after 9/11.
We need to know more about this creep.
Diplomats can do pretty much anything a US citizen can’t....bump the line in a restaurant, park anywhere and not pay a parking fee or ticket- maybe he was under the assumption he could smoke on a plane.....and tested his Diplomatic rights.....
Wish I was a Diplomat.....;)
I’d haul him out on the runway and throw him into a turbine fan,...but of course, that’s just my form of personal justice.
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