Saudi passenger disrupts flight bound for Indianapolis

A real problem with all these stories is that we hear the initial coverage but never the backstory....so I always take them with a grain of salt.

The poor fellow probably just needed some sleep.

It sounds like he was just looking for the bathroom

This guy attemps to open the door to the flight deck, he is grabed by a passenger and led back to his seat whlie he "appears" to be confused, claims he is an exchange student at the university of Indianapolis and is found to be lying, is interviewed by police, who check his background. He is not on a know terrorist list so he walks! Are you kidding me? How many of the people who brought down 4 aircraft on 9/11 were on a terrorist list? Why do I have the feeling that these people know that we still don't really get it? Watch them scramble when this guy shows up somewhere in the future, involved in some type of an attack!

that's TSA and homeland security for you, both are a waste of resources and man power under their current administrator's

The lavatory is not hard to find on any commercial airplane. Send him to that federal resort we have in Cuba. A Saudi translator, a few hours on the waterboard, and they will know it all. Something is not right here!

WAIT! Did I just hear TSA let him walk? That's a first!

No charges because he's a muzzie, we better not offend them.

Mandatory hold on all passengers who attempt to enter a cockpit or disrupt a flight and or crew, for 48 hours along with mental evaluation and no fly across the board for two years, end of story, take a bus or drive....

So far, the facts released by the local media here in Indianapolis are ...
(1) he briefly attempted to open a cabin door (not the flight deck door) possibly as he was looking for the rest room,
(2) the flight was American Eagle EGF4305, and the aircraft was an E145 regional jet (not a B737), and the only restroom is a cramped closet in the rear of the aircraft,
(3) other passengers, including the one who led him back to his seat, said he was quiet and non-confrontational and just appeared to be dazed and/or tired; that's not too surprising after a long flight from Saudia Arabia, the confusion of JFK, and a long layover,
(4) he speaks very little English, so his statement that he was a student at the University of Indianapolis should not be taken as a lie, probably more of a translation problem,
(5) after the aircraft landed, local law enforcement questioned him and conferred with the FBI, TSA, and other agencies before he was released. The Federal authorities reportedly didn't even feel the need to interview him.

If the headline said "Red-haired passenger disrupts flight bound for Indianapolis", do you think the reaction would be a little different?

Delving into the realm of conscious sarcasm, what is an LAX-SFO flight doing in Indianapolis?

It's not an LAX-SFO flight! It's a regularly-scheduled flight from JFK to IND every day.

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/EGF4305

That is very strange they would just let him walk. I wonder what the note said? And who is the spokesman for the school? I'm pretty sure you can't just call a University and get names of students even if you are the press. They was this article was written could easily make him appear to be a threat when in actuality he might have just had to use the bathroom.

It's not difficult to find the restrooms in a 737. He had already flown several thousand miles so he knows the layout of a jet. Regardless, I'm sure he has the watchful eye of the US Government on him now.

All the bathrooms with the regular small door were occupied so he tried the bigger door with no "Occupied" sign on it..

With all of the "pilot error" stories floating around, maybe he was just checking to see if they had one?

I fined it sad a private citizen was the one who had to take care of this situation, like the gang from flight 93. We the People had to do it. More sky Marshalls please.