Flight Attendant Charged In Bomb Threat
- Thread starter TWAnr
- Start date
She has violated the rules and there will be consequences. But before people go off and cast a thousand stones, it would nice to hear what she has to say whether we believe it or not. One of our other rules in this country is the right to be heard for better or worse. We have no idea about her state of mind nor what drove her to such an action.
jimntx
Veteran
Well, vy didn't you post dot in de firze plaze? A lot of the thread seemed to be directed toward the assumption that she was a member of the working crew. All the news media said was that she was a flight attendant, but was not working that flight. My only point was that non-working could be deadheading or non-revving. I never said it made one whit of difference in the seriousness of her actions, no did I imply that.TWAnr said:
I had already worked up my own scenario that she was either a DFW reserve (which evidently she is) who was being deadheaded to a trip she didn't want to work, or she was a BOS f/a who was commuting to a trip she didn't want to work. Since she was a VMC I'm guessing they were deadheading her to Boston to work a transcon.
Garfield1966
Veteran
Damn, one more seq we had to cover. Stop the insanity.TWAnr said:
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Flight attendant to be held until hearing
By Toni Heinzl
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
June 2, 2004
FORT WORTH - The bomb threat note found Thursday in a lavatory of American Airlines Flight 306 from Dallas/Fort Worth Airport to Boston sounded alarming enough that the pilot requested permission to divert the MD-80 to Nashville, Tenn.
Gay Wilson, an off-duty American Airlines flight attendant who lives in Arlington, reported finding a note that said: “There is a bomb on this flt [sic] to Boston in cargo. Live Sadaam[sic]!â€
An FBI agent’s affidavit in a criminal complaint against Wilson, 37, describes an immense law enforcement response on a day when President Bush was in Nashville for a speech and a fund-raiser.
Only after Air Force One had cleared Nashville International Airport was Flight 306, escorted by military fighter jets, allowed to land, according to the affidavit.
Federal agents interviewed all 129 passengers and crew. Every piece of luggage was screened twice for explosives, and no bomb was found.
On Friday, FBI agents in Dallas interviewed Wilson again, “and Wilson subsequently provided an oral and written confession admitting that she had written and planted the bomb threat note in the aircraft lavatory,†FBI Special Agent Gregory Franklin of Nashville wrote in his affidavit filed Friday. Dallas FBI agents then arrested Wilson.
On Tuesday, Wilson made her initial court appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles Bleil in Fort Worth on a federal charge of interfering with the performance of the duties of a flight crew. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Bleil set a detention hearing for Thursday morning and ordered Wilson held temporarily in federal custody until then.
Wilson, dressed in a flight attendant’s outfit with blue pants, a white blouse and a blue sweater, began to sob when Bleil said she had a “spotless record.†Bleil called her the type of defendant who would routinely be released pending trial.
Her defense attorney, Andy Platt of Fort Worth, said he had never defended a case like Wilson’s. Asked about her tearful reaction in court, Platt said the last four days have been tough on her.
Her life as she knew it has fallen apart, Platt said.
“She’s somebody who’s never been in trouble before. She’s never been in jail in her life, not even for a traffic ticket,†Platt said. “Everything in her life is going down the drain.â€
Platt said Wilson is worried about her pets and paying bills.
“She’s just sitting there in limbo, not knowing what’s been going on,†he said.
Platt declined to talk about his client’s motivation or her response to the charges.
Asked about her state of mind, Platt said, “I don’t see any kind of mental impairment or incompetence.â€
Two sisters and a brother of Wilson attended the court hearing, the attorney said. Wilson is not married and has no children, Platt said. The relatives declined to talk to reporters.
The events on Flight 306 most likely ended Wilson’s career with American Airlines, Platt said.
“She’s assuming she’s not working there anymore,†Platt said.
American Airlines spokesman Tim Wagner declined to comment about Wilson’s employment status, saying he could not discuss personnel matters because of privacy issues.
Prosecutors from the U.S. attorney’s office for the Middle District of Tennessee seek to prosecute Wilson in Nashville, but Platt said he would try to get the case transferred to the Northern District of Texas because it would be more convenient for Wilson.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ron Eddins in Fort Worth declined to comment on the case. Eddins said he was only assisting his colleagues in Tennessee by handling Wilson’s initial court appearance and the upcoming detention hearing.
Federal prosecutors in Nashville did not return calls Tuesday.
In the aftermath of 9-11, federal authorities have beefed up security at the nation’s airports, and prosecutors have taken a tough stance in prosecuting hoax threats to deter pranksters from tying up law enforcement resources.
A 19-year-old Californian found out in January that prosecutors take bogus threats very seriously. Deshon Brown, a former aviation technology student in Inglewood, Calif., was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison Jan. 26 for using his cellphone to threaten to blow up the Delta Air Lines terminal at D/FW Airport on July 25.
Brown said he made the calls out of boredom while waiting for his flight to Los Angeles and told FBI agents that he enjoyed watching the police response.
Platt said he was aware of the seriousness of the charges against Wilson in the current climate.
“If it had happened four years ago, it wouldn’t have been such a big deal as it is right now,†Platt said.
Federal officials could not recall a similar case in North Texas.
“We have threats called in on a weekly basis, but as far as flight attendants or other airline employees are concerned. I cannot recall another case in the year since I’ve been here,†Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman Andrea McCauley said.
Flight attendant to be held until hearing
By Toni Heinzl
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
June 2, 2004
FORT WORTH - The bomb threat note found Thursday in a lavatory of American Airlines Flight 306 from Dallas/Fort Worth Airport to Boston sounded alarming enough that the pilot requested permission to divert the MD-80 to Nashville, Tenn.
Gay Wilson, an off-duty American Airlines flight attendant who lives in Arlington, reported finding a note that said: “There is a bomb on this flt [sic] to Boston in cargo. Live Sadaam[sic]!â€
An FBI agent’s affidavit in a criminal complaint against Wilson, 37, describes an immense law enforcement response on a day when President Bush was in Nashville for a speech and a fund-raiser.
Only after Air Force One had cleared Nashville International Airport was Flight 306, escorted by military fighter jets, allowed to land, according to the affidavit.
Federal agents interviewed all 129 passengers and crew. Every piece of luggage was screened twice for explosives, and no bomb was found.
On Friday, FBI agents in Dallas interviewed Wilson again, “and Wilson subsequently provided an oral and written confession admitting that she had written and planted the bomb threat note in the aircraft lavatory,†FBI Special Agent Gregory Franklin of Nashville wrote in his affidavit filed Friday. Dallas FBI agents then arrested Wilson.
On Tuesday, Wilson made her initial court appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles Bleil in Fort Worth on a federal charge of interfering with the performance of the duties of a flight crew. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Bleil set a detention hearing for Thursday morning and ordered Wilson held temporarily in federal custody until then.
Wilson, dressed in a flight attendant’s outfit with blue pants, a white blouse and a blue sweater, began to sob when Bleil said she had a “spotless record.†Bleil called her the type of defendant who would routinely be released pending trial.
Her defense attorney, Andy Platt of Fort Worth, said he had never defended a case like Wilson’s. Asked about her tearful reaction in court, Platt said the last four days have been tough on her.
Her life as she knew it has fallen apart, Platt said.
“She’s somebody who’s never been in trouble before. She’s never been in jail in her life, not even for a traffic ticket,†Platt said. “Everything in her life is going down the drain.â€
Platt said Wilson is worried about her pets and paying bills.
“She’s just sitting there in limbo, not knowing what’s been going on,†he said.
Platt declined to talk about his client’s motivation or her response to the charges.
Asked about her state of mind, Platt said, “I don’t see any kind of mental impairment or incompetence.â€
Two sisters and a brother of Wilson attended the court hearing, the attorney said. Wilson is not married and has no children, Platt said. The relatives declined to talk to reporters.
The events on Flight 306 most likely ended Wilson’s career with American Airlines, Platt said.
“She’s assuming she’s not working there anymore,†Platt said.
American Airlines spokesman Tim Wagner declined to comment about Wilson’s employment status, saying he could not discuss personnel matters because of privacy issues.
Prosecutors from the U.S. attorney’s office for the Middle District of Tennessee seek to prosecute Wilson in Nashville, but Platt said he would try to get the case transferred to the Northern District of Texas because it would be more convenient for Wilson.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ron Eddins in Fort Worth declined to comment on the case. Eddins said he was only assisting his colleagues in Tennessee by handling Wilson’s initial court appearance and the upcoming detention hearing.
Federal prosecutors in Nashville did not return calls Tuesday.
In the aftermath of 9-11, federal authorities have beefed up security at the nation’s airports, and prosecutors have taken a tough stance in prosecuting hoax threats to deter pranksters from tying up law enforcement resources.
A 19-year-old Californian found out in January that prosecutors take bogus threats very seriously. Deshon Brown, a former aviation technology student in Inglewood, Calif., was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison Jan. 26 for using his cellphone to threaten to blow up the Delta Air Lines terminal at D/FW Airport on July 25.
Brown said he made the calls out of boredom while waiting for his flight to Los Angeles and told FBI agents that he enjoyed watching the police response.
Platt said he was aware of the seriousness of the charges against Wilson in the current climate.
“If it had happened four years ago, it wouldn’t have been such a big deal as it is right now,†Platt said.
Federal officials could not recall a similar case in North Texas.
“We have threats called in on a weekly basis, but as far as flight attendants or other airline employees are concerned. I cannot recall another case in the year since I’ve been here,†Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman Andrea McCauley said.
WingNaPrayer
Veteran
Flight Attendant Remains Detained In Texas Bomb Note Case
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP)--A flight attendant confessed to writing a note about a bomb aboard an airplane last week, saying she had "personal problems," an FBI agent testified Thursday.
Gay Wilson agreed to take a polygraph test but then confessed to leaving the note in the bathroom of an American Airlines flight from Dallas-Fort Worth to Boston on May 27, FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer said during a detention hearing in federal court.
"I asked her why a person would do something like this, and she said, 'Because they could...or maybe they're psycho or crazy," Coffindaffer said. "(After the confession), she said (she did it) because she had personal problems."
Defense attorney Andy Platt declined to comment on the alleged confession but earlier told the judge that Wilson had no criminal record and should be released.
U.S. Magistrate Charles Bleil ordered that Wilson, 37, continue to be detained and then transferred to Nashville, Tenn., where the plane was diverted, to face a felony charge of unlawful interference with a flight.
"Based upon the evidence of inappropriate responses and in a sense, inexplicable conduct, and also based upon such things as Ms. Wilson's head shaking in court and facial expressions, I do find she's a danger to others and should be detained," Bleil said.
Coffindaffer also said that when she asked Wilson to write the contents of the note -"There is a bomb on board this flt to Boston in cargo. Live Sadaam!" - that Wilson spelled "Sadaam" the same way.
Coffindaffer said that during the questioning, after Wilson returned to Dallas-Fort Worth Airport on May 28, the agent asked about how the note and tissue paper around it were folded, and Wilson showed her. Coffindaffer said she later found two pieces of paper in Wilson's bag that were folded the same way.
Authorities have said they found no evidence that Wilson has ties to a terrorist group.
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP)--A flight attendant confessed to writing a note about a bomb aboard an airplane last week, saying she had "personal problems," an FBI agent testified Thursday.
Gay Wilson agreed to take a polygraph test but then confessed to leaving the note in the bathroom of an American Airlines flight from Dallas-Fort Worth to Boston on May 27, FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer said during a detention hearing in federal court.
"I asked her why a person would do something like this, and she said, 'Because they could...or maybe they're psycho or crazy," Coffindaffer said. "(After the confession), she said (she did it) because she had personal problems."
Defense attorney Andy Platt declined to comment on the alleged confession but earlier told the judge that Wilson had no criminal record and should be released.
U.S. Magistrate Charles Bleil ordered that Wilson, 37, continue to be detained and then transferred to Nashville, Tenn., where the plane was diverted, to face a felony charge of unlawful interference with a flight.
"Based upon the evidence of inappropriate responses and in a sense, inexplicable conduct, and also based upon such things as Ms. Wilson's head shaking in court and facial expressions, I do find she's a danger to others and should be detained," Bleil said.
Coffindaffer also said that when she asked Wilson to write the contents of the note -"There is a bomb on board this flt to Boston in cargo. Live Sadaam!" - that Wilson spelled "Sadaam" the same way.
Coffindaffer said that during the questioning, after Wilson returned to Dallas-Fort Worth Airport on May 28, the agent asked about how the note and tissue paper around it were folded, and Wilson showed her. Coffindaffer said she later found two pieces of paper in Wilson's bag that were folded the same way.
Authorities have said they found no evidence that Wilson has ties to a terrorist group.
Okay, I am going to play devil's advocate here. I do not condone what she is accused of doing and I will presume her innocent until proven otherwise.
BUT, haven't any of you ever been on a trip you could not get rid of, and somwhere in the back of your mind thought, I should call in a threat to get rid of it?
Before I get crucified, it is only a fleeting thought, but maybe this poor deranged woman just thought about it just a little too long?
Personally, I think she should plead temporary insanity, or maybe restructuring induced insanity, or airline induced insanity.....the list is endless.
BUT, haven't any of you ever been on a trip you could not get rid of, and somwhere in the back of your mind thought, I should call in a threat to get rid of it?
Before I get crucified, it is only a fleeting thought, but maybe this poor deranged woman just thought about it just a little too long?
Personally, I think she should plead temporary insanity, or maybe restructuring induced insanity, or airline induced insanity.....the list is endless.
