Jerry

An anonymous call to the Philadelphia Police Department prompted the jetliner’s return, NBC News has learned.

Perhaps the person led off in handcuffs did something to warrant the phone call to Philadelphia PD?

There doesn't seem to be any investigative reporting anymore. Just some guy reading the AP and rewriting it. Why would some passengers be off the plane while others are on it with bomb sniffing dogs.

Well, it might not have been a little old lady on this flight, but yesterday I did just read about one on another flight that was a hoot!

www.prlog.org/11967601-chaos-erupts-on-airtran-airways-flight-as-elderly-couple-comes-unhinged-over-book.html

The police and federal agents who are investigating this hoax are probably withholding any information until they find some answers and have the person(s) they believe to be responsible in custody. They don't want to tip off the targets.

Sooooo...what happened? What was the suspicious threat? The FBI was involved? There is absolutely no information here!

Thank you Tao, laughed so hard my tummy hurt.

Here is my guess as to what happened. The "birthday boy" was given a gift package before takeoff, and told to only open the package when he arrived in Florida, when he arrived at his sister in law's house, on Marigold Lane. The package was a Nordstrom's box, taped shut, and in his black carry-on case. Inside the package was a realistic dildo, extra large in size. The dildo was bought online from "adam and eve." for $19.99 plus shipping and handling. After the plane took off, the call was made to the airlines. The plan was that a stewardess was supposed to ask about the box, and look inside, creating an awkward and embarrassing moment for the birthday boy and the stewardess and the birthday boy's wife. Instead, I guess, the airlines called police, etc. Whoops! Whoever did this prank was not thinking clearly, perhaps the man had too many Johnnie Walkers and should not have done it. I am certain he is very sorry.

Still think law suits are frivolous. When they find this guy the passengers should file a class action against him. I'm sure the airline will try to recover.

These news outlets want to get out a potential story so quickly the content of this is WORTHLESS.

Tao...LOL!!! Now I gotta clean up the keyboard. Thanks for the link.

imrightnotyou

These news outlets want to get out a potential story so quickly the content of this is WORTHLESS.

So true. Pretty soon we'll see links "BREAKING NEWS" and when you click on it, there will just be a paragraph stating

"Something is happening somewhere and as soon as we have some details we'll post what we think happened without really waiting for details but this way we generate some advertising revenue from everyone clicking on the story which we won't bother to update once real facts become available"

PS Tao, that was indeed classic.

Tao- I think I know who that old couple is! We fly home to KS for Christmas, and last time we went there was an elderly couple checking in ahead of us. She has reddish hair and has a fake hair bun, they look like they're in their 70's. They fuss about everything, including boarding. They stand at the front near the airline boarding employees thinking that will make them seat them faster, meanwhile, everyone else has to push past them when our rows are called because they didn't pay for priority boarding. You can see how pissed they are. LOL, I would bet this is that couple. (Since the article said they were flying into KS). Who knows, maybe there's just more than one grumpy old couple in the world. ;)

@stooopids - that sounds like a very plausible scenario and I hope you (I mean the person responsible) made the phone call from a pay phone that isn't linked to them! But it does sound like a funny idea if it actually worked as planned.

The Greatest 7:

Thank you for your concern. It should be all ok, as the guilty party uses a public phone. Now, if they do a DNA test on that dildo, then the guilty party could be in trouble, if he did not wipe it down as good as I think I did.

another good reason not to fly!

Tao - Like others my keyboard needs a little cleaning - thanks for the laugh.

NBC News staff and wire

Notice there is no name connected to this piece of journalistic lint, BUT made you look GOTCHA..hahahah

This intended idea is not we serve to inform, .. it is you serve us to click..now they can try to justify their advertising rates at the expense of our time and frustration as they publish incomplete storys leaving more questions than information..

I think people just like to bitch. They apparently don't realize we are in the "information age" where news travels fast.

Apparently its ok for them to read the story so fast they don't even get the details that are there, it boggles the mind. More details will come out later. Stay tuned bitchers!

I thought everything as carry on was put through an X-ray machine? Didn't the TSA person see anything strange that would have caused a more deeper inspection of the package. Asking to open a closed package/present would be normal procedure if a forbidden item or something suspicious was seen. Maybe the agent wasn't doing their job correctly.

difficult to find a threat when it is a hoax.....

The article said it was a hoax played on a passenger because it was the passenger's birthday.

The article states pretty clearly, "But a telephone call was placed to Philadelphia police, claiming that he was trying to "smuggle" something to Texas."

hopefully they figure out who did this and charge them with the money that the airline lost! That's one expensive birthday present! JERK!

Knowing how the TSA thinks they'll probably charge the poor guy who was taken off in handcuffs with something.

And then fine him to cover the costs.

And put him on the no-fly list.

"yea i read it..... but of course that statement above is an opinion....a thought....and yes a phone call.... but tsa claims they will find threats before takeoffs..."

read it again and this time instead of looking for something to bitch about READ IT and try to comprehend what is being written. If there wasn't a real threat how could TSA find it? Or are you suggested they should have ignored it since TSA didn't find the fictional threat? Sheeezzzzz!

WOW....all it takes to give ANYONE you have a grudge against a Police Record is to make an anonymous call and report that your "friend" who is on a plane has something that might explode. Then you get to watch them being taken off the plane in handcuffs, searched (god knows how evasively), interrogated and booked, causing them a HUGE HIT in the pocket for the lawyers they are going to need! And this anonymous subhuman can get his/her big thrill over and over as it makes the news. What a great friend, if it was a Birthday Hoax. I'm betting it was a grudge attack.

Little over dramatic there? Once the guy was pulled off the plane and found to be innocent, he was let go and no longer in custody, with no more need for an "expensive attorney", or police record, etc etc.

Relax Human

Kayner--how, exactly, do you think the police determine it's a hoax? You think they just ask the guy "hey, are you a terrorist?" and then take his word for it when acts all confused about why he's being asked and denies it? No, they are going to investigate, and with Patriot Act authority and a terrorism scare, they won't be gentle about. They would be vigorous in the interrogation, probably with the suspect in restraints for most of it. They would verify the validity of every scrap of paper in his wallet, from his license and credit cards all the way down to whether the stamp card from the local sandwich shop was legit. His employer probably got a call, if not a visit, to find out what they thought the "suspect" was capable of. And even an innocent man is smart to retain a lawyer to help during an interrogation like that.

This is hardly a harmless prank. Even if the cops were reasonably efficient about all this able to verify his story within, say 8 hours, that's still a very unpleasant 8 hours that only a sociopath would think is funny pull on someone.

The kind of world you are imagining....where random people know what is in your luggage.......it doesn't exist.

This is relevant how?

It's actually not relevant but if you went through what I did a few years ago with U.S. Airways, you might want to vent and spew out your feelings of disgust for a company that doesn't care about its customers....generally speaking, of course. I wrote a nice letter to the President of U.S. Airways describing my horrific experience and never got the courtesy of a reply.

Fair enough.

Bevo4...Hate is a very strong word and you didn't get a courtesy reply from US Air??? Did you make the phone call?

Hate is a very strong word? Really???? REALLY? How about BOOOO!!!!! Is that scarry to you?

Just trying to add a little comic relief. And BOOOO is not scary (strange and poor analogy by the way) but what is scary is someone who goes by the call name HumanBeing doesn’t think that Hate is a very strong word!

You are the best!

Only when death is actually a possibility. Safety has become a dirty word because people like you have over-used it.

UOCS, and who is the expert on whether death was actually a possibility? You? I love people who think they know more about a threat than the FBI.

Then come give me a hug and share the love.

The FBI was tipped off by a phone call or facebook posting from some random individual. I would argue the TSA had more accurate and exact information than the FBI at the time of takeoff as to who was a threat. Either the TSA screwed up, or the FBI did. You can use your 'better safe than sorry' argument if you want to now.

UOCS, So you think that the FBI got a call and just said "okay, turn the plane around"? Isn't it more likely that they did a little bit of due diligence first? There are about 3,000 bomb threats in the U.S. every year. You really think they just evacuate and turn planes around every time?

Too bad the FBI agent in charge wasn't from the real midwest though (cool that you know everybody there!), then I'm sure they would ignore the call and tell the passengers to just rub some dirt in it if the plane actually exploded.

Does anyone find it strange that this guy was arrested for supposedly trying to 'smuggle something' into Texas. So we have a passenger with both any carry ons and his luggage screened at the airport. TSA found nothing to question his passage. The phone call comes in and with something this vague and it seems they don't trust TSA's screening enough to wait until the plane reached Texas but required it to turn around and land again.

Problem is that taking any kind of liquid in your suitcase is not a problem within the US. bottle of hand lotion, toothpaste, any item that could be one thing or another. Think about how many bottles of anysort you take on a trip. Anyone of those bottles might be in another person's bag with something inside that is not what belongs there. And do you think TSA is going to open up every bottle in every bag to make sure it is what it is supposed to be.

It was on the news channels earlier this week: TSA screening and testing liquids sold to passengers, in the fast food stands and vending machines, in the boarding area, AFTER they have gone through the regular TSA preboarding screening. So, how did they think this person was going to get through several layers of screening before getting on the aircraft.

This almost sounds like a very good excuse for inter agency rivalry to confirm their authority/power. In the meantime, people are terrorized by the mere thought of a bomb maybe being on their plane, as well as massively inconvenienced because some jerk thinks "I've got a perfect trick for my buddy's birthday." Not to mention the cost loss to everyone involved, with exception of the fool that thought he was funny.

Too bad they can't charge him with "Domestic terrorism." Or can they?

ANd I dont remember the numbers but TSA MISSES but there are reports that since 2001 there have been over 20,000 security breaches missed by TSA (wepons etc). So all you thinking TSA protects you - I am laughing my fat ass off.

Soxfan, I hope you read the updated article and can admit the egg you have on your face. It looks like that is EXACTLY what the FBI did in this case. Some asshat called in, and they took them at their word without a second thought.

Ok, we need to get something straight. The midwest extends from ND on the west to OH on the east, and down south to MO. Now, I know the people in each state in that area, and you don't fit in. People in the midwest have values and are not afraid of living in a free society, and they accept the risks that comes with. They aren't like people on the coasts who expect guarantees of safety from the government. We can't live in a world where safety will justify any action of fear. Shame on you.

The government is the terrorist is this case

'student'

I live on the East Coast, and I do NOT live in fear, nor do I expect guarantees of safety from the government. Prudence is a responsibility of all!!!

'You don't fit in' and 'shame on you'....who are you to say this to anyone, some punk who thinks they know it all?

You must be too young to understand the difference, go back to school and learn something...

UCOS - First I now live in the Midwest and I dont know you - so how can you claim to "know the people" living in the midwest - reading you comment literally you claim to know us all. Secondly I am a native Cailfornian - I grew up with earthquakes heck I did not live in fear then nor do I now, I do not expect my government to do anything except provide reasonable security. At the same time if I observe something that looks suspicious I owe it to my fellow travelers to report it. At the same time I owe it to the traveling public not to pull a HOAX as a birthday joke, not smart, not cool, and very cruel.

The only truly way to be safe is to not fly and make sure you stay out from under the path of an overhead plane. TSA won't guarantee it. Their regulations are mostly reactionary and a lot of them of just plane "feel good" regulations.

So if you fly you have to take some risk. I just don't want terrorists to win enough to make us change our lives because of them.

^ Glad someone isn't a dip-stick about this.

Punk huh? Is that to say you would more willing to believe me if you found out I was someone important? The midwest is not a place where cowardice is looked upon favorably. I have been on the east coast a while now, and I'm going to go ahead and say it: most of you are cowards when it comes to your liberties. Safety is not an acceptable reason to do something stupid.

I'm not sure what that has to do with the article. The TSA did not detain the person. Therefore, either you think the TSA are screw ups and missed the guy, or you think the TSA did a good job proving the guy is not a risk and the airplane should have continued to its destination. You are trying to hold a split position here.

Probably for bringing it down

well...at least some people understood my point...dip-sticks.

It's not that I don't understand, it's that you've created an impossibility and want to be praised for it.

You have a good point Susanna. Testing the drinks of people who are still in the airports and have not even boarded the plane yet is already a reality. As far as my experinces, you are not even allowed to bring a drink on the airplane when you do board, opened or not, or any food either even if it's not opened. Pretty soon a person won't be able to carry contact solution or meds even in checked bags. Once your freedom is gone .... it's gone.....

So what are you trying to say? Should we put airport security away until the next time a terrorist or nut knocks a plane out of the sky? Look what happened the last time. We've gotten into two wars and the economy is a mess. What do you think would happen to the economy if someone blew up a plane today?

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it"
George Santayana

"They who can give up essential liberty for a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety' Ben Franklin

We need to find the middle ground between seeing terrorist in any one who is deffernet than us, or who has a different belief system, while at the same time learning from the past to prevent future atrocities. But is very unfortunate that what we get is over reaction to the point of hysterical acts (Patriot Act), where rather than identifying true threats we allow airline pilots to ban downs syndrome kids from flights, we tolerate intrusive security searches that are inaccurate and not successful.

WHat we should have learned from 9/11 is that we had lots of signals that the terrorists were active, many of not all had overtayed their visas, we had warnings that they were taking flying lessons, the Clinton Administration had tried to warn the Bush Administration about AlQueda, etc. WHat we should have learned is that our government agencies charged with National Security could not communicate with each other. What we got was Homeland Security the war in Iraq and the Patriot Act.

That's procedure. If the aircraft had continued on and there had been an incident that caused the aircraft to be lost along with everyone on board, you'd have been at the front of the line screaming why didn't they land. I'm no cheerleader for TSA, but they're one step ahead of some crackpot today. Maybe tomorrow, someone figures out a new explosive that can't be detected by our current technology. Hopefully, they find the moron who called in the hoax, and wack him with the fuel bill and the charges to reaccommodate the passengers for the (at least) 2 flights that were canceled.

It's not a matter of having no faith in the TSA. It is a matter of nothing is perfect. There is no 100% effective means of security. Even if they didn't allow anyone to bring anything on the plane and made them fly in the nude, there is still the slim possibility of something getting smuggled on board.

To wderbi -

MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY!

I'd turn him loose to the passengers who were on that flight to let him know about how they felt about being inconvenienced.

Actually, the person who did this could be facing several years in jail, a very hefty fine and could still be sued by both the airlines and the passengers who were inconvenienced.

Paranoid....

Hey! You said I could! lol :)