Yesterday, American Airlines Flight 136 from Los Angeles to London was diverted to New York after flight crew expressed concerned about a passenger. In a statement, American Airlines said the decision to divert was made after a flight attendant became suspicious about one of the passengers. The Associated Press offered these details:

The flight attendant had reported seeing the passenger ride to the terminal on an employee bus and bypass security, as employees are able to do, [American Airlines spokeswoman Sonja] Whitemon said. After talking to the man, flight crew members decided they needed to divert the plane to Kennedy to search the cabin and re-screen the 230 passengers, in keeping with standard security procedures, said Whitemon. 

Of the diverted aircraft, and on the heels of his "I've-got-a-gut-instinct-about-an-upcoming-terror-attack" speech, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Michael Chertoff told CNN that he had received a report that the man in question was an employee who was traveling not as an employee, but as a private citizen.

"It may very well turn out that this is nothing more than a misunderstanding with an employee who used an employee bus to get on a plane for a private flight," Chertoff said.

But according to the Transportation Security Spokesman (TSA) Christopher White, the man was not an employee.  

"He was a regular passenger with a verified boarding pass, not an employee. There's nothing to indicate that he used employee transportation," White said.

While DHS and TSA work out their gut instincts and misunderstandings, I asked Debra Burlingame (former flight attendant, former attorney, current aviation security advocate, and always the sister of Captain Charles "Chic" Burlingame — pilot of American Airlines Flight 77 which crashed into the Pentagon) what she thought of the incident. Here's what she said. 

Airline crews fly hundreds of thousands of miles per year, mostly without incident. They take their responsibilities very seriously, however, and have a very keen sense of what is ordinary and what is not. In view of Islamic terrorists' continuing obsession with airborne attacks, flight crews are even more alert to their surroundings–whether that be on the airplane, in the gate area or on the airport perimeter. 

Even if it turns out that this was a false alarm, I suspect there is more to this story than "mistaken identity." Flight crews are not easily spooked. What is most important is that airline crews should be encouraged to vigilant and the public should understand that they are looking out for us all. They are our last line of defense when government agencies and law enforcement fails. If the crew has a strong sense that something is wrong, they have an obligation to report it. Reasonable error is preferable to a failure to act.  

Will American Airlines honor the same ideals that Burlingame speaks of? This morning, the Associated Press ran a follow-up piece saying that the airline was "seeking answers" as to how the flight attendant came to suspect a security breach. Will American Airlines publicly support its crews' obligation to report suspicious behavior — especially regarding incidents that come under public scrutiny? Or will they put the fear of a CAIR lawsuit before safety?

You can send American Airlines a letter showing your support for flight crews' ongoing vigilance by writing:

American Airlines Customer Relations
P.O. Box 619612 MD 2400
DFW Airport, TX 75261-9612

Or by sending a fax: (817) 967-4162

Further reading: "On A Wing And A Prayer: Grievance Theatre At Minneapolis International Airport," by Debra Burlingame, The Wall Street Journal, December 6, 2006

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