December 07, 2009

More on Air Tran Flight 297: Major Details of Viral Email Confirmed

I haven't been following the case of Air Tran Flight 297 all that closely. In fact, I declined to comment it since the first day that I started receiving panicked emails talking about a "dry run".

As I told a few of those who forwarded the now viral email describing the events of loud men behaving badly at the gate: Um, it's not people speaking Arabic loudly you have to worry about.

Quite the opposite, in fact. Muhammad Atta did not broadcast his intentions by being loud.

But it does seem that Air Tran handled the case poorly with a policy of deny everything. No doubt they are fearful of a repeat of the flying imams who sued not only the airline for removing them from the flight after a similar incident, but also the passengers who reported their odd behavior.

Note to Air Tran: You can deny the details of the incident all you want, but you're still going to be sued.

Yes, it's come to that. And for that you can thank Congress who declined to give airlines immunity from such lawsuits.

But more to the point, the evidence seems pretty solid that the men in question were acting strangely.

Were they terrorists on a "dry run"? Um, no. In fact, the description of their behavior seems kind of right in line with what you might expect from any flight from Vegas. I should know, I've been on dozens of these flights filled with passengers behaving similarly. As if the airplane was the last leg of a weekend long party in which they forgot all manners and just assume that every one is as loud and obnoxious as they are.

What's the difference here? They were speaking Arabic.

If after 9/11 native Arabic speakers don't get why the rest of us get nervous around them on an airplane then they are living in a fantasy world.

Yes, you make us nervous. Especially when you behave in ways normally considered rude. We tend to overlook rudeness to varying degrees depending on the context of the situation.

And the language you speak does add an extra layer of context.

I certainly don't approve of racism. But I'm also quite aware that hijackers are thousands of times more likely to be Muslims than of any other religious identity. And that a great number of Muslim hijackers are also Arabs. Like, all 19 on Sept. 11th.

So, note to readers: Arabs speaking loudly and ignoring the requests of stewardesses are probably not hijackers, just assholes.

But note to native Arabic speakers: show a little self control and sensitivity. You make a lot of people very nervous when you behave rudely. Some might call this fear irrational and they may have a point. But no more irrational than, say, instructing passengers how to use the airplane cushions as a flotation device. The odds of being hijacked and surviving a crash long enough to need them probably being similar.

Yes this sucks. We don't live in an ideal world. It could be much worse. Embrace the suck.

Anyway, here's the column by Laura Armstrong in the Marietta Daily Journal which seems to confirm the major details of the initial email:

Even as people scrambled to substantiate the e-mail, Muslim and leftist Web sites began characterizing the writer and anyone who thought it might have merit as "right wing racists." They immediately initiated a campaign to discredit and ridicule the writer, who actually had the audacity to speak boldly about the escalating fear and anger on the flight, though he admitted to me yesterday he'd taken artistic license with a couple points, never imagining it would travel beyond his circle of friends. He's not a journalist, and has no wish to become the next Joe the Plumber, he said.

His account, not intended for publication, focused on Arabic-speaking men using a number of tactics to upset the aircraft, such as taking photos of passengers, getting up and down from their seats at inappropriate times and intimidating others. The e-mail has, unfortunately, overshadowed the real story.

Oops: I had another point I was going to make but had to run off. I think the best point that I might have the most sympathy for is that in the wake of the flying imams case this could have been a case of Arabs looking to get thrown off the flight so they could sue the company.

That is, these men were doing things that normally will get you thrown off a flight, what makes them so special?

I'll buy that. Most rude people don't get thrown off, though. But some do. It's up to the crew to make that call.

I'm just pointing out that this was not a terror dry run. If it was they would be trying not to get noticed.