From the AP:
Dutch F-16s escorted a Northwest Airlines flight bound for India back to Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport today after the crew reported some passengers were behaving suspiciously, authorities said.
Several passengers on Northwest Airlines Flight NW0042 to Bombay were taken off the plane for questioning after it landed safely, airport spokeswoman Pamela Kuypers said. Others were questioned at the gate.
The Dutch Defense Ministry and airport authorities said the pilot radioed for permission to return and asked for an escort of jet fighters when the crew’s suspicions were aroused by several passengers.
“A number of them behaved, in the opinion of the crew, in a suspicious manner,” said a Defense Ministry statement. “As a result, the captain asked to return to Schiphol. The customs police have taken a number of people off the plane for questioning.”
Those taken for questioning were, according to one passenger, of “south Asian” appearance.
Meanwhile, Counterterrorismblog’s Walid Phares is reporting that the 12 people arrested were all using their cell phones—which made US Air Marshalls on the flight suspicious.
Notes Allah, who has a nice roundup:
There have been no fewer than three false alarms in the past ten days or so, and this’ll probably be number four. Although this is the first of them to involve actual arrests.
[…] Possibly significant: the destination was Mumbai [see here]. Also possibly significant: the pilot requested an escort from fighting jets while returning to the airport. The flight that was diverted to Boston last week also got an escort, though, so that might be SOP at this point.
I have a source inside the Air Marshal program whom I’ll try to contact about this.
Could be nothing, could be something. From what he tells me, concerns about political correctness often lead to an official story that is not always 100% reliable.
If I can get ahold of him, I’ll post his response here in an update.
****
See also, Ace, MKH, Dan Riehl
OT: Deb Frisch has officially crashed-and-burned-and-exploded, auguring into the ground at mach 3. Instapundit has the link to the details.
She wanted an audience, she got an audience: judge, court reporter, and court clerk.
“south-asians” using cellphones…I would call
in the fighter jets too.
I have a niece flying back to the Netherlands
next week and I’m starting to sweat.
Maybe the flight attendants should have passed out the Actus “Liberal Feminism in the Middle East” handout before the flight took off….
Came looking for Deb Frisch news like the first commenter, but this is equally scary news. It’s hard to get the true story on these kinds of things tho, best wishes to you
.
Hey if it worked in montgomery alabama, why not in a northwest flight?
I saw this on the news a little earlier, they had an official from the Netherlands on the phone who said 12 people were indeed arrested, couldn’t say why and wouldn’t disclose nationality or ethnicity.
My bet is that it’s a dozen Scandinavians saying the Rosary too loud.
TW: together. That too. It’s distracting is what it is.
hmmm, because of the mythical terrorism threat, I suppose?
Exactly. We took care of the terrorists in the South with more than just handouts.
Real men don’t fly, except Delta Daggers.
“Exactly. We took care of the terrorists in the South with more than just handouts.”
Which involved the 101st Airborne, wiretapping, undercover agents…
Oh, I’m sorry, I forgot. That’s only allowed when you are going after the bad terrorists of 40-50 years ago, not the terrorists of today.
You won’t be taken seriously, actus, until you actually are serious. I really don’t see that happening ever.
Had dog once, that no matter where it was, if it heard it’s name, even in casual conversation, would come running up pissing itself and passing gas.
It was annoying.
Grouch,
Was it also named actus?
You defeato-cons never cease to amaze me.
Major John,
No, but it should have been.
See? It is doing it again!
Defeato-cons?
Maybe we need to get an actus-whisperer, see if he can do anything with it.
Sometimes, whacking them on the nose with a rolled up newspaper helps.
How bout chaining it to a barge….
We?
Anybody hear an echo?
Mr. Terrorist cannot be detected by a machine! We are spending our dollars in the wrong thing!
The agencies here are in PANIC!
And they are obsessed with Technology!
And that just doesn’t work. We will spend billions of dollars now to find a solution for detecting X, but once we reach that the terrorist will use Y, or Z, or A, B, C or a combination of all of the above instead!
The US agencies are looking for the BOMB but not for the BOMBER!
The only combination that works in this field is when you mix up Technology with Human Factor. We need to start training selectors in the airport in identifying suspicious behaviour. Random security is worthless! You have to be able to identify the possible terrorist. And believe me, no matter how ideologically brainwashed you are or how convicted you are to your religion, before dying or killing people get nervous. And we must be able to identify this.
Only then will we be SAFER. Yep, not 100% safe, nor 90% safe like the Israelis, for that we also need Human Intelligence in the process involved in identifying, recruiting, training, and sending a Bomber.
But with that mixture of Technology and Human Factor we will be safer…and the travelers will not pay the price everytime a new type of explosive or tactic is tested by the terrorists causing the system to PANIC.
In the meantime, though… it looks like we are going to have to take our security and the security of our loved ones in our own hands. There are many things one can do in order to increase one’s safety should something occur. An excellent source for this can be found at http://www.technonllc.com/pd1
We’re doing that. Whether we’re any good at it remains to be seen.
tw: It must be shown.
A false alarm seems likely enough. But here’s a wild thought: We’ve all seen reports of Muslim-looking men smirking at passengers, or giving them hate stares. Remember journalist Clarence Page, author of “Showing My Color”? He wrote that in his youth he would get his jollies when out at night by behaving in a menacing manner towards white people. Could some otherwise peaceful Muslims be doing something similar?
Clarence Page is an @$$*&^%. I suppose others could be too, pst314.
“We’ve all seen reports of Muslim-looking men smirking at passengers, or giving them hate stares. Remember journalist Clarence Page, author of “Showing My Colorâ€Â? He wrote that in his youth he would get his jollies when out at night by behaving in a menacing manner towards white people. Could some otherwise peaceful Muslims be doing something similar?”
I recommend they continue to do that at airports and on aircraft Federal Marshals are such a jolly and fun loving crew – it’s certain to be more fun than a barrel of monkeys!
How many macacas in a barrel of monkeys?
Stop with the racial slurs, actus.
There’s no need for that here.
Instapundit links to a comment on Bruce Schneier’s excellent blog:
“What’s to stop terriorists now just getting on flights and acting suspiciously on purpose. If no crime was committed (I was just checking my watch, saying my prayers, going to the bathroom etc.) they can cause disruption, create paranoia and terror at will and get off scott free.”
New World or Old World?
Dry pack or water added?