Planes diverted, searched as airlines deal with jitters

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Posted 9:31AM on Sunday, September 15, 2002

PHILADELPHIA - Nervousness about the Sept. 11 anniversary produced tension this week aboard airplanes, where combs looked like knives, the word ``bag'' sounded like ``bomb'' and a middle-aged woman's trip to the bathroom seemed like a potential terrorist act. In two days, at least five planes were ordered to make emergency landings and a sixth was searched on the ground in a series of false alarms. ``People are a little more jumpy, a little more aware and a little more nervous this week,'' said Brian Doyle, a spokesman for the Transportation Safety Administration. ``I think people will get a teeny bit more relaxed the further we get away from Sept. 11.'' Three aircraft were diverted Sept. 11, the anniversary of the terrorist attacks. An American Airlines airplane returned to Houston after a flight attendant mistook a passenger's comb for a knife. Then, a Russian cargo plane bound for Texas was escorted by fighter jets to a base in Massachusetts before officials realized it was carrying American soldiers. A Northwest Airlines jet bound for Las Vegas landed in Fort Smith, Ark., after one man ignored a flight attendant's request to leave a bathroom and his traveling companion later insisted on using the same restroom. Then on Thursday, a National Airlines flight from Las Vegas to New York was escorted by military jets to Philadelphia after a woman who spoke limited English didn't understand an instruction to stay in her seat. Minutes later an Air Portugal flight to New York was escorted to an air base in Delaware after a miscommunication between the pilot and air-traffic controllers. A United Airlines jet also was searched in Chicago on Thursday after a passenger told authorities he overheard another flier say he left a bomb on the plane. Police said the tipster misheard the word ``bag'' as ``bomb.'' David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association, a passenger advocacy group, said the recent incidents appeared to be a combination of misunderstandings and poor communication, sometimes sparked by a language barrier. ``These security rules have strict requirements and harsh constraints on people, and they need to be clearly enunciated and explained to passengers. And that becomes tougher when you have a language gap,'' he said. Crew members on the plane diverted Thursday were unsure how to proceed when a 43-year-old Chinese woman got up to use a bathroom after having been instructed to remain in her seat, National Airlines spokesman Dik Shimizu said. The pilot asked air-traffic controllers for guidance and was instructed to land in Philadelphia, he said. ``I can't even imagine how this woman felt when she realized that she was the reason the plane was in Philadelphia,'' Shimizu said. Bill Shumann, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration, said the number of incidents should recede when the government rolls back its terror alert warning from its second highest level - orange. Federal statistics indicate that airlines usually deal with about 300 unruly passengers a year, but the FAA said that, before the Sept. 11 attacks, it was rare that a plane would be diverted or ordered to land. This week's incidents were the latest in a string that began last month. An American Airlines flight from the Dominican Republic to Miami on Aug. 19 made an emergency landing shortly after takeoff after a passenger quipped that it is easy to bring weapons aboard an airplane. An American Airlines flight from Chicago to San Francisco was diverted to Salt Lake City on Aug. 20 after a passenger tried to recharge a battery by warming it with a cigarette lighter. On Aug. 29, two F-16s scrambled to intercept a Bahamasair flight from Canada to North Carolina after a miscommunication between air-traffic controllers and the pilot. The plane was diverted to Long Island. On Aug. 31, a federal air marshal trained his gun on passengers for 30 minutes on a Delta flight from Atlanta to Philadelphia after several ignored orders to stay in their seats, following the detention of a man seen rummaging through luggage.