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recent days the CEO of American Airlines has publicly backed the
captain who removed an Arab-American Secret service agent from a
flight from Baltimore-Washington International Airport to Waco,
Texas on Christmas day. The armed agent was en route to Waco, Texas,
to join the president's security detail. The airline is currently
being sued by the agent for racial profiling. American Airlines
has released the incident report from the captain and another airport
official present. "While the police were determining the proper
status of this individual this person came up to me with loud abusive
comments as to his being denied boarding. That he has the powers
of the White House behind him and that this is not of [sic] the
end of this matter," the captain of the plane wrote. The full
report appears below. The report can also be found on the airline's
website.
Text of Captain's Statement
Misconduct of Armed Passenger
Debrief Detail:
Armed passenger * flight 363 BWI/DFW. Flight was scheduled to leave
at 1715. I was notified that due to a mechanical at the next gate
— they would hold our push for approximately 30-40 minutes
to try to accommodate those pax going to DFW. A few moments later
the *1 flt attendant brought to my attention that she and other
flt att were concerned about the actions of one of the pax. This
pax left the aircraft with carryon bags still in his seat. He told
the flt att. Please don't leave without him. While the pax was away
a flt att observed books in the individuals seat which were written
in what she assessed was Arabic style print. Upon further investigation
— when the individual came back it was determined that he was
in fact our 'armed passenger'. I then decided to stop my pre-flt
and review the AA E2. The form was unreadable because it was a carbon-copy
and there were missing items. I then had the agent come back and
recheck his credentials and give me a new AA E2. Again this form
was filled out improperly. I left my seat to speak to the individual.
He appeared nervous and anxious. With all the forms that I received
in error I determined that the most prudent course of action was
to call dispatch to phone patch me to the SOC. I asked them to fax
me a copy of what the Secret Service credentials looks like. He
advised me that BWI should have this information. BWI in fact does
not. We still were accommodating the connecting passengers and had
time to further determine the proper credentials of this person.
While all this was going on the individual approached me in front
of the lead agent and asked why he was being denied boarding for
so long. I disclosed to him that the paper work was not correct
and that I needed to have this fixed before he would be accommodated.
This was an AA issue and none of his concern. At this time the individual
became very hostile with me. Upon all the information that I had
up to this point — I had doubt as to his actual representation
as a Special Agent for the Secret Service. 1. *Two improperly filled
out AA Form E2. 2. *Flt atts bringing to my attention what appeared
to be strange behavior. 3. *Hostility toward me for trying to correct
my required paper work. I then had the Maryland Airport Authority
police determine his proper ID by calling the Secret Service as
to his legitimate status. This took about ten minutes to complete.
In the interim I was given a third improperly filled out AA Form
E2. This had no signature of the LEO. No initial as to the traveling
status of the officer. No phone number. While the police were determining
the proper status of this individual this person came up to me with
loud abusive comments as to his being denied boarding. That he has
the powers of the White House behind him and that this is not of
[sic] the end of this matter. The police agreed with me that there
was a legitimate concern because of his unprofessional behavior.
This was all in full view of every passenger boarding the flight.
He then said he would not board the flt. As it turned out he was
an actual LEO. After the events of 9/11 and another of our fls targeted
with explosives and causing injury to a flt att I absolutely felt
correct in having this individuals [sic] identification validated.
After three improper AA Form E2s [sic] and the behavior of this
individual, I needed to be 100% sure of his credentials. If he just
let us do our job of getting the paper work in order, he would have
been boarded, and it would have been a pleasure to carry an 'armed
passenger'. With the lives of the entire passengers and crew, I
was uncomfortable with his actions and did what a Captain should
do and edge toward the side of safety and not move the aircraft
until I'm confident that all issues are satisfied before taking
off. As a note, I am filling [sic] a misconduct report with the
Secret Services Internal Affairs division. I would suggest that
AA Security follow up on this matter because this individual made
the entire crew uncomfortable with his actions and absolutely with
his confrontational behavior toward me. The police officer who was
very helpful was officer (redacted). The case # was (redacted).
The Secret Service Agent's name was (redacted). Passports and fraudulent
IDs can easily be altered to look passable. With all the items to
this event not adding up, I absolutely believe I acted in the best
interest of my crew, pax and AA.
Text of SOC
Manager's Statement:
I was working as Center Manager on Christmas and received a call
from Captain (employee number ) flying flight 363 from BWI/DFW.
The Captain had a concern about a passenger onboard his flight.
The Captain first requested a fax containing all wanted terrorist
photos that American had available. I explained that this was not
possible and asked exactly what problem he was encountering. He
said that he received paperwork for a passenger that stated he was
a Secret Service Agent and would be traveling armed. The Captain
said that the paperwork contained scratched out flight numbers and
may have been altered. I then suggested that the Captain request
new paperwork. The Captain called back again and stated the he was
still questioning the validity of this passenger working for the
Secret Service because the secret service agent had failed to fill
the paperwork out properly again. I asked if he had looked at the
agent credentials. He said you work for the airline, you know how
easy it would be to get fake I.D. I suggested that I could call
the Secret Service and verify that this passenger was in fact an
agent. I asked the Captain to request the agent's superiors [sic]
name and number. The Captain said that we should not use his information
because he could have a friend answering the phone when we called.
I then suggested get the local police to verify the I.D. since,
being located at BWI, they would have exposure to Secret Service
I.D.'s and contact phone numbers. The next phone call I received
was from the AA ticket agent at BWI. He said that the Secret Service
agent had verbally abused the Captain and that the Captain was denying
him boarding. I asked to speak to the police officer that was witness
to this, who then verified what the ticket agent had stated. Based
on this, I then decided to end boarding to this passenger on future
AA flights. Later, I received a call from the AA ticket agent at
BWI and was asked to talk to this Secret Service Agent. I then heard
the Secret Service Agent's side of the story. He admitted to not
properly filling out the paperwork for carrying a weapon; not once,
but twice. He also admitted to losing his temper with the Captain
because he was asked for his ID five separate times. When he asked
why he was denied future boarding, I explained that I could not
expose AA crews or passengers to abuse. He said he was being discriminated
against, wanted my bosses [sic] name, and threatened that he would
have my job. He was going to take this to the highest authority.
I asked for his superior's name and contacted him. I explained the
situation to the superior. He confirmed that this man did work for
the Secret Service, and would contact him. A short time later the
agent's superior called back and said that he was sorry for losing
his temper and would like to travel out of DCA the next day. He
then stated that the agent was of Middle Eastern descent. I explained
to the superior that I did not know this and that there was no discrimination
in the denied boarding process with SOC. I was 1,000 miles away
from the situation and handled it as we would for any unruly passenger.
We agreed the agent could travel the next day.
SOC Center Manager — American Airlines
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