preshi
<font color=red>Proud Sister of A United States Ma
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2000
- Messages
- 3,098
Jet Diverted After Strange Behavior
Wed Sep 11, 2:58 PM ET
By JENNY MARBERRY, Associated Press Writer
FORT SMITH, Ark. (AP) - An airliner was diverted to Fort Smith on Wednesday because four passengers behaved strangely on the flight, including at least three who locked themselves in a restroom, possibly shaving their body hair.
No injuries were reported.
Federal officials, speaking on a condition of anonymity, said the incident was not believed to be related to terrorism.
However, KSTP-TV in Minneapolis, where Northwest Airlines is based, quoted an unidentified source as saying the men were "shaving themselves clean." A source speaking on condition of anonymity told The Associated Press that people aboard the airplane gave investigators similar accounts.
After last year's terror attacks, documents found in the luggage of attack leader Mohamed Atta gave what appeared to be instructions for the suicide hijackers: "The previous night, shave the extra hair from the body (and) pray."
The men appeared to be of Middle Eastern descent, said Jim Harris, a spokesman for Gov. Mike Huckabee.
Federal Aviation Administration ( news - web sites) spokesman Scott Brenner said some people were detained by the FBI ( news - web sites) at Fort Smith, but he didn't know how many. The FBI office at Little Rock said the men were taken off the plane but their whereabouts were unknown.
The Bush administration had raised the nation's terror alert warning to its second highest level Tuesday code orange signaling a "high risk" of attack on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Northwest Airlines Flight 979, an Airbus A320 traveling from Memphis, Tenn., to Las Vegas with 94 passengers and a crew of five, landed at Fort Smith late Wednesday morning, Northwest spokeswoman Mary Beth Schubert said.
No fighter jets were launched to accompany the aircraft, said Maj. Douglas Martin of the North American Aerospace Defense Command.
The Northwest pilots decided themselves to land at Fort Smith as a precaution, the airline said in a statement.
Schubert said she could not elaborate on what alarmed the crew and could not confirm information about the alleged shaving.
Police and firefighters surrounded the aircraft, sitting at the end of a runway, and other passengers were taken to a terminal.
No other air traffic in the area was affected, said Dave Steigman, a spokesman for the Transportation Security Agency.
Wed Sep 11, 2:58 PM ET
By JENNY MARBERRY, Associated Press Writer
FORT SMITH, Ark. (AP) - An airliner was diverted to Fort Smith on Wednesday because four passengers behaved strangely on the flight, including at least three who locked themselves in a restroom, possibly shaving their body hair.
No injuries were reported.
Federal officials, speaking on a condition of anonymity, said the incident was not believed to be related to terrorism.
However, KSTP-TV in Minneapolis, where Northwest Airlines is based, quoted an unidentified source as saying the men were "shaving themselves clean." A source speaking on condition of anonymity told The Associated Press that people aboard the airplane gave investigators similar accounts.
After last year's terror attacks, documents found in the luggage of attack leader Mohamed Atta gave what appeared to be instructions for the suicide hijackers: "The previous night, shave the extra hair from the body (and) pray."
The men appeared to be of Middle Eastern descent, said Jim Harris, a spokesman for Gov. Mike Huckabee.
Federal Aviation Administration ( news - web sites) spokesman Scott Brenner said some people were detained by the FBI ( news - web sites) at Fort Smith, but he didn't know how many. The FBI office at Little Rock said the men were taken off the plane but their whereabouts were unknown.
The Bush administration had raised the nation's terror alert warning to its second highest level Tuesday code orange signaling a "high risk" of attack on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Northwest Airlines Flight 979, an Airbus A320 traveling from Memphis, Tenn., to Las Vegas with 94 passengers and a crew of five, landed at Fort Smith late Wednesday morning, Northwest spokeswoman Mary Beth Schubert said.
No fighter jets were launched to accompany the aircraft, said Maj. Douglas Martin of the North American Aerospace Defense Command.
The Northwest pilots decided themselves to land at Fort Smith as a precaution, the airline said in a statement.
Schubert said she could not elaborate on what alarmed the crew and could not confirm information about the alleged shaving.
Police and firefighters surrounded the aircraft, sitting at the end of a runway, and other passengers were taken to a terminal.
No other air traffic in the area was affected, said Dave Steigman, a spokesman for the Transportation Security Agency.
) difinatey signifies a "ritual" of some sorts, and leads to the question "why on an airplane"?
