The war on screwdrivers
From The Times:
A flight from London to Washington was diverted to Boston today, flanked by fighter jets, after a passenger was found to have a screwdriver, matches and a note with a reference to al-Qaeda on her.
From CNN:
BOSTON, Massachusetts (AP) — Fighter jets escorted a London-to-Washington, D.C., flight to Boston’s Logan airport Wednesday after the pilot declared an emergency because an apparently claustrophobic passenger caused a disturbance, a federal official said.
The federal security official said there was no indication of terrorism and denied reports that the woman had a screw driver, matches and a note referring to al-Qaeda.
[Via Fark]
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Here’s my guess.
Firstly, as the plane was being escorted in, I doubt anything more than the most basic info was released to the press. Reporters will have been sufficiently eager to report as much detail as possible that they will have been too ready to believe any old made-up crap that came from someone who sounded like they knew what they were talking about.
Secondly, Arab terrorists have been known to use distractions and decoys in the past. A woman having a panic attack draws everyone’s attention, making it easier for someone else to pull something. That’ll be why there was maximum security and all the baggage was checked.
Plausible?