Second passenger saw suspicious behavior
By Audrey Hudson
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published July 30, 2004
Government officials are questioning a passenger's account of alarming and suspicious behavior by Syrian musicians aboard a recent flight to Los Angeles, although a second passenger has corroborated the events.
The second passenger, a frequent business traveler who asked not to be identified, provided a copy of her itinerary confirming she was on the June 29 Northwest Airlines Detroit-to-Los Angeles Flight 327, which was disrupted by 14 Syrian passengers later identified as musicians.
The passenger, who was riding in first class, said the constant foot traffic and strange behavior she witnessed in the front cabin frightened her as much as it did Annie Jacobsen, the first passenger who publicly reported the incident.
"I thought I was going to die," the second passenger told The Washington Times. "And that makes me furious because that's the whole point of terrorism, to make people afraid. It makes me mad that they achieved that. But I'm not letting it stop me from taking other trips."
The incident on Flight 327 highlighted concerns that terrorists have been making "dry runs" on commercial jets in preparation for attacks.
Homeland Security and FBI officials briefed Senate Judiciary Committee staffers Wednesday. The House Judiciary Committee also is conducting an oversight review of what happened on the flight.
Federal officials agreed the activity was suspicious but doubted the account by Mrs. Jacobsen and her husband, said one staffer who attended the briefing.
"They emphasized repeatedly there were material discrepancies between what the two [passengers] reported and what the flight attendants and federal air marshals observed," the staffer said.
Air marshals, pilots and flight attendants, however, back the passenger's account because they say such events are happening regularly.
"Flight attendants see these dry runs and are very concerned," one attendant who praised Mrs. Jacobsen for going public said yesterday. "We, as employees, do not have as much freedom as passengers when it comes to speaking out."
The Homeland Security Department did not return a call for comment, but has said it has no intelligence on such activities.
The 14 passengers on Flight 327 were detained by the FBI's Terrorism Task Force after the flight and were determined to be a Syrian band booked to play a gig near San Diego with singer Nour Mehana.
Homeland Security officials described the 14 as "just musicians," but freelance writer Heather Wilhelm discovered that Mr. Mehana had recorded a song, "Um El Shaheed," ("Mother of a Martyr") in which he sang the "glorious" praise of a suicide bomber.
The second passenger on Flight 327 said the men were "up and down the aisles of the plane the entire time," and that one of the men pushed other passengers as he rushed toward the front lavatory. She said the man did not appear to be ill, and remained in the lavatory during her entire meal.
Mrs. Jacobsen said the Syrians consecutively filed in and out of restrooms, and stood during most of the flight. Just before landing, seven of the men jumped up in unison and left their seats. Upon returning to his seat, one man mouthed the word "no" as he ran his finger across his throat.
"There was more activity up and down the aisle through first class than I have ever experienced on any flight, including international flights," the second passenger said. "The most unusual part was that the flight attendants seemed to ignore what was going on."
The second passenger said she did not share her concerns with the flight attendants because "I thought I was just crazy, and I didn't want to be the crazy person on the flight that stands up and says something is wrong, but I will now in the future. I praise Annie for what she did, because I didn't have the guts to." |
