No Need To Fear the Threatening Passengers…

By Parrothead Jeff, on 4 December 2009

I’ve been reading a blog called Stormbringer for quite a while now. I’ve mentioned it before and there’s a link to it on my blogroll over on the right side of the page. Stormbringer is written by a former Special Forces soldier who goes by the pseudonym Sean Linnane. I don’t mind pseudonyms for the most part as I find that I can usually detect the truth vs. the Bravo Sierra in someone’s writings. Stormbringer rings true in my book.

The post on Stormbringer that I’m writing about concerns reports of a possible “dry run” of a terrorist plan aboard an airliner last month.

SOMETHING’s going on here . . . YOU be the judge . . .

. . . the Sean Linnane email box has been going hog-wild all day . . . multiple sources have brought this issue to my attention:

A chilling first-person account of the real reason Airtran Flight 297’s Atlanta-Houston leg, canceled last Tuesday:

Monday, November 30, 2009

This has been a subject of discussion amongst a few of us for a couple of weeks. The person’s account below is known to three of our group, and he is NOT a whiner or complainer…

He’s an ex-Navy diver, working for a government organization; he has traveled extensively world-wide. This is his account of what happened on Flight 297 on the taxiway and at the gate in Atlanta . . .

One week ago, I went to Ohio on business and to see my father. On Tuesday, November the 17th, I returned home. If you read the papers the 18th you may have seen a blurb where a AirTran flight was cancelled from Atlanta to Houston due to a man who refused to get off of his cell phone before takeoff. It was on Fox.

This was NOT what happened.

You really should go read the whole thing over at his place.

Another blog called Esposito’s Musings has published a somewhat different account from a person who got on the plane after the initial fracas and Snopes has their take on the events as well.

I can’t say for sure what happened – I wasn’t there. Still, I wouldn’t be surprised in the least if some of the other “normal” passengers were observers in some sort of “dry run,” not in the least. With the current leadership in D.C., the smothering blanket of political incorrectness that’s been thrown over everyone, and lawyers whose sole concern is the size of the dollar signs in a potential client’s eyes, these guys had very little to worry about in the way of prosecution if you ask me.

Even without the knowledge of what was going on in the heads of the people who decided to act very stupidly aboard an airplane, I think we can all take this as a reminder that not everyone is a harmless, lovable little fuzzball who only wishes you long life and prosperity. I’m not saying to go overboard or to be paranoid and afraid of your own shadow, but rather that we should all be aware of our surroundings and those around us. Stay alert and be prepared to raise the alarm if nothing else.

Stay safe, everyone.

Kath

December 4th, 2009 at 0714 · Reply

Whether exaggerated or not, the point is we have become so overwhelmed with political correctness that we’re going to die for it. That, to me, is exactly what happened at Fort Hood.

No one wanted to really speak out for fear of being called prejudiced or racist or nonsympathetic or — whatever you want to call it.

When the whole PC business started, it certainly was with the best of intentions — like so many things, of course. But it has definitely gotten way out of hand. Examples are too numerous to list, but I’m sure everyone can contribute their own — on a daily basis!!

You have to be so guarded in what you say and do that we have lost the point and the sensibility of protecting ourselves.

My fear is that 9-11 will happen again, I don’t see how it won’t. But maybe if we can come back down to earth, keep our eyes and ears open and use some common sense we can prevent it.

Of course, no one could ever imagine that happening in the first place, could they?

Buck

December 4th, 2009 at 1528 · Reply

Wow. That was an incredible read, in both the literal and figurative sense.

Glenn Cassel AMH1(AW) USN Retired

December 5th, 2009 at 2021 · Reply

I caught it myself. Once the bearded and towel headed maggots were kicked off the plane, they should have stayed there. But it appears that the TSA folks on hand were lacking any balls. I spent almost seven years in the Aircraft Industry in Wichita and thanks to the IAM&AW, one is forced to walk on eggshells. Yours truly? I don’t think so. I had a “counseling” session once with my supervisor and the steward over something that was well past. The supervisor said he was going to keep the meeting politically correct. Guess who got up and headed for the door? Needless to say, the supervisor and the steward were surprised. The super asked me why I was leaving and I told him…..this meeting is terminated as I consider political correctness to be a character flaw.
Kath, you know the saying about good intentions, the road to hell is paved with them. And above all, keep your powder dry and your blade sharp.