Air Marshall Subdue Man Suspected Of Being A Shoe-Bomber, On DC-Denver Flight…Turns Out He Is Just An Idiot Sneaking A Smoke In The Bathroom…
A Qatari diplomat, Mohammed al Modadi, went into a nicotine fit on his flight from Reagan National Airport in Washington,D.C., en route to Denver,Colorado, and decided to sneak a smoke from a cigarette, in the airplanes bathroom.(SOURCE)
What happened next was probably not part of his plan, and probably ruined his nicotine fix, because of the reaction to the smell of smoke, as well as the site of smoke coming from his shoes!!!…he unwittingly found himself being suspected of being a “Shoe-Bombing” terrorist.
A flight attendant, smelling the smoke, alerts an air marshal, who confronts Modadi. The diplomat attempts to calm the nerves of the air marshall by making a joke about …he was trying to light his shoes on fire….which the air marshall interpreted to be a case like the Richard Reid 2001 shoe-bombing attempt that failed.[picapp align=”right” wrap=”true” link=”term=richard+reid+shoe+bomber&iid=2229182″ src=”e/6/3/a/Shoe_Bomb_Suspect_40ec.jpg?adImageId=12210237&imageId=2229182″ width=”234″ height=”281″ /]
There are conflicting reports that state that the diplomat did not make that joke, but did put the cigarette out with his shoe,which also cause the air marshall to react to him as if he was stopping a bombing, either way,the security threat was taken seriously.(SOURCE)
Two F-16 fighters, scrambled by the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), intercepted flight 663 and escorted it to Denver.
Several law enforcement officials said no explosive had been found on the plane. Still, the diplomat was being questioned by the F.B.I., as were fellow passengers.
The whole affair was just a misunderstanding, as no explosives were found and diplomat Modadi did not attempt an attack, in fact, as are most foreign dignitaries, he has immunity from any further prosecution, but he has learned a lesson.
I have known several chain smokers, and a long flight does prevent them with some unique challenges-like abstaining from a relaxing drag of nicotine from your favorite brand of cigarettes for several hours while in flight, because all airplanes here in the states are non-smoking planes.
Many of you can relate to what he was trying to get away with here…I am sure several of you have attempted this same thing in smoke free establishments, or public transportation.
Unfortunetly, ever since the tragedy that occurred with the hijacked airplanes on September,11,2001, the public and the security forces are on edge, and any bomb scare ,rule breaking, or illegal lighting of smoke on an airplane full of people, will not be tolerated, and you might get arrested in a very public, and physical way.
I know when I board a plane, I am on the look out for any one that looks like a terrorist to me…whatever they may look like?…and I am not going to sit idly by while someone possibly is attempting to light ANYTHING at all!!!…I would rather react harshly and it be a misunderstanding, rather than hope that nothing bad is happening in the bathroom even if I can see or smell the smoke coming out of it,and that’s when it happens….
You are not supposed to be able to board any plane with a lighter!!!…mine are always confiscated from me if I have forgotten to take them out of my pockets, so…that’s enough to make you wonder what is really going on here…
I think this diplomat needs to invest in some patches or something if he needs to sneak a smoke on a plane!!!!..just a suggestion.
[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=united+airlines&iid=8458016″ src=”f/9/e/e/FBI_Investigates_Possible_c6ee.jpg?adImageId=12210155&imageId=8458016″ width=”234″ height=”136″ /]
Read the full account of this story here…
Jerrybrice's Blog 
Leave a Reply