Saudi man attempts to enter cockpit of Indianapolis-bound passenger jet

posted at 11:30 am on October 7, 2011 by Howard Portnoy
[ Terrorist Attacks ]   

It’s déjà vu all over again. Federal authorities are probing the actions of a Saudi Arabian man who is free today despite having attempted to enter the cockpit of an American Airlines flight Wednesday evening. Replace “Indianapolis” in the headline with “New York”—which in fact is where the flight originated—and the story line becomes eerily familiar: All but one of the 9/11 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia.

The suspect, Abdulaziz Mubarak Alshammari, 20, was pulled away from the cabin door by another passenger a half hour before Flight 1936 landed at around 10 p.m. According to those seated in the forward part of the cabin, the man walked toward the cockpit, then aft. A moment later he was back, jiggling the handle on the locked cabin door.

A passenger seated nearby rose and asked Alshammari if he was looking for the bathroom but Alshammari shook his head. The passenger, Rodney Bailey, grabbed Alshammari’s arm and escorted him back to this seat, 13B.

When the plane touched down in Indianapolis, local police intercepted Alshammari for questioning. He told them he was a student at the University of Indianapolis, which turned out to be false. Curiouser and curiouser.

While on the plane, Alshammari, who reportedly has limited English, wrote a note in Arabic, which authorities photocopied. The contents have yet to be revealed.

Indianapolis police contacted The Indiana Intelligence Fusion Center and the FBI Terrorist Screening Center, who ran checks on Alshammari. Records indicated he was not on a terrorist watch list and had no outstanding criminal warrants. No charges were filed, and he was released. Case closed.

Here’s hoping if Alshammari enrolls in a flight school, pays cash, and tells the instructor he needs no instruction in landing a plane, that authorities will investigate a little more thoroughly.

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