Ruth and I were passengers on Flight 245 from Las Vegas and Los Angeles on September 3, 2011. We had visited Vegas as a celebration of our wedding anniversary. After our time in Vegas we planned to make a short hop over to Los Angles prior to boarding a flight for our final destination in Detroit. We were scheduled for a four-hour lay-over. We had planned this portion of the trip so that our son, Michael, and his wife, Kate, could meet us at the airport for dinner. They lived about a twenty-minute drive from LAX and this was going to be a great opportunity to connect for a short visit. Like all good plans, we are sometimes confronted with unanticipated events that alter our well intended purpose.
Ruth and I were assigned seats near the rear of the airplane for the LAX flight. While the flight was loading, one of the flight attendants told a second attendant that she had helped a “blind man” board the airplane. This “blind man” was the same man who became a central figure in the next several hours of our life.
Prior to departure, we were moved forward to the second row of seats to help balance the load of the flight. A third passenger was also moved forward to this area. As you face the front of the airplane, we were on the left side of the airplane. The third relocated passenger was in the first row in front of us.
As the plane began down the runway, a female passenger started screaming and tried to get assistance from the flight attendants. A call came over the PA from the male flight attendant who was sitting directly in front and facing Ruth and me. He told the distressed passenger that we were underway and that the attendants would not be able to assist her until we were airborne. He also asked neighboring passengers to assist the distressed passenger if they could. They couldn’t. The “blind man” was seated next to her. As we started down the runway, he yelled “Allah Akbar. I have a bomb!” (Ruth and I didn’t hear the words as they were yelled, but several others did.) This set off a series of memorable events.
As soon as we lifted off, we couldn’t have been more than 20-30 feet up, the male attendant went to assist the screaming passenger. She was yelling in distress the entire time. Other women started screaming and crying.
The male attendant confiscated a pack back, brought it forward, and put it in the seat in front of Ruth and me. As he raced forward he said, “We’re going back!” He picked up the phone, spoke to the pilot, and then started to direct passengers regarding their behavior. A second attendant, who spoke Hebrew, was trying to calm the distressed passenger who had identified herself as being Israeli. She didn’t have any success. The woman cried, “We’re all going to die”. She yelled repeatedly, “He told me that he has a bomb. We’re going to die.”
The female attendant came forward and the male attendant gave her the backpack and directed her to take it somewhere in the rear of the plane. I remember thinking, “If this is a bomb, I don’t think it’s going to matter where it explodes.”
Shortly after we were airborne, a male passenger seated a couple of rows behind me to my right identified himself as an air marshal. He assisted the male attendant in securing the “alleged blind” bomber. (We now knew that he wasn’t blind.) Once the man was secured, he was brought forward and the air marshal remained with him. They sat in the first two seats on the right side of the plane.
We were up and back down in a manner of a few minutes. Ruth and I held hands and remained very calm. I said something like, “If this is it, we’ve had a good life.” I called Michael on my cell phone and told him to remain home. I don’t remember what else I shared but , hopefully, it was something positive.
During the entire flight we were asked to remain calm, follow directions, etc. Most passengers responded appropriately. The plane began its descent as soon as we were high enough to do so. It looked like we were “buzzing the strip”. I swear I could see people in their hotel windows.
Once we were on the ground, we taxied to a secure area of the airport and were accompanied by police and fire. They surrounded the airplane. The area that we taxied to had huge piles of sand. We parked among the piles. We remained on the plane for approximately thirty minutes before a mobile stairway, local police, and bus transportation arrived.
Everything that took place up to this time was handled very well by those in charge of the aircraft. Once on the ground, the time to bring assistance to the plane was entirely too long. The longer we waited, the more agitated the passengers became. The flight attendants continued to follow procedures, remained calm, and did the best they could to maintain control of the situation. However, the delay added tension to an already stressful situation.
Once the mobile stairway was brought to the plane, local police took the alleged bomber into custody. About ten minutes later the remaining passengers were directed to leave everything on board the airplane. If it wasn’t in a pocket, it was to remain on board. As a result all carry-on luggage, purses, and personal items remained on the aircraft. Finally, the passengers deplaned, bordered buses, and rode to the airport where we were directed to an unused portion of the terminal. Once in the terminal, TSA personnel began to arrive.
We were held there for another thirty minutes. Bottled water was provided. We were told that we would be re-screened and after that we would be taken to gate B-6 where another aircraft would take us the Los Angeles.
The TSA personnel conducted themselves professionally and the passengers that I witnessed during the re-screening cooperated in a calm manner. About forty TSA personnel divided us into two groups. Men went to one side of an open space and women were directed to another side. Each passenger was screened by two TSA agents. One asked questions while a second patted us down. We were released to another area as we passed the screening.
TSA personnel escorted several passengers to gate B-6. Ruth and I were near the end of the screening so several passengers were in the area when we arrived. Most were seated, talking to each other or on cell phones, waiting to be told what to do next. About a dozen TSA personnel were with us, but as time passed they all withdrew from the area. Local police arrived and spoke to a few passengers.
Shortly after we were all in the area of gate B-6 we were told that if we were hungry that we could go to food service areas located near us to purchase food. The problem with this plan was that most passengers had left their money on board the airplane – i.e. purses and other personal belongings. The airline provided three, and sometimes four, gate attendants to work with passengers. At first they had nothing to report other than the fact that all luggage and carry on items were being inspected. We were told that once that process was complete, another plane would take us to Los Angeles.
The waiting for what to happen next was the most troubling for me. The airline had no control of the events leading up to and immediately after the incident. I expect that local law enforcement, airport authorities and the TSA were responsible for most of what happened after we landed and were re-screened. The airline was responsible for how they handled the situation after everything was back under their control. The local ground personnel assigned to the gate did a good job of dealing with angry and frustrated people, however, no one with any real authority ever spoke to us. We didn’t know what was true and what was false. (I still don’t.)
Once the carry-on luggage and personal items were cleared, the local ground personnel did their best to retrieve items for passengers. There didn’t appear to be any process for this to be handled. Gate attendant resorted to making notes for themselves on blank pieces of paper. They made lists of items, retrieved them, and had passengers sign off to verify receipt. If a more formal process was defined, it wasn’t evident. If more formal documents were available, they weren’t used. I believe that the gate attendants did the best they could with the tools that they had available.
We were told that a another plane to LA would be ready to leave at 8:45. That time changed several times and at 9:30 the flight was canceled entirely. LA bound passengers were told that they would be rescheduled for the next day. They would be housed over night, receive food vouchers, and a $50.00 credit on a future flight.
Ruth and I, as well as several others whose ultimate destination was Detroit, were placed on a direct flight to Detroit. We left shortly after 11:00 p.m. The entire ordeal had begun around 4:00 p.m.
During the flight to Detroit I replayed the event in my head. I remembered going into a restroom with what turned out the be the “alleged bomber” right after we had been screened into the boarding area. He wasn’t blind as he pretended to be when he boarded the plane, and he didn’t have any luggage. He wasn’t carrying anything, yet when he boarded the plane, he had a backpack.
When he landed in Detroit I told my revelation to the head of security. If he was aware of what had happened in Vegas, he didn’t share that information. When I told him of my observation of the man prior to boarding the plane – and his lack of a backpack – he seemed unimpressed. I was trying to share information that I thought might be helpful as the story played out. The security officer’s reply was very simple. “If a bad guy wants to get a bomb on a plane, he’ll find a way.”
The big takeaway for me during the entire experience is that most people are capable of conducting themselves appropriately in times of stress. Those who aren’t able cause a lot of problems for everyone.
We did a lot of waiting. We waited on the airplane, waited in the re-screening area, waited at gate B-6 for further instructions, and no one with any authority came out to meet with us. The gate attendants that did work with us did a wonderful job. They remained calm throughout the entire time.
The Israeli lady who yelled the warning when the trouble began, sobbed and sobbed for the entire seven hours that everyone was together. A lady with a cell phone shot video and interviewed people. The video below shows the alleged bomber being escorted off of the plane. Ruth and I were sitting directly in front of the man with the blue ball cap on the left. (the arrow is pointed at Ruth’s head)
Ruth and I never heard what happened to the “bomber”. There was a story on the local news about the returned flight but I have been unable to locate an update so I don’t know “the rest of the story”. I do know that we were surprisingly calm throughout everything that happened. I suspect that we were relying on those in change to do their jobs. Those stuck in the middle of the action did.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U26WGkTPq4I