A TSA screener was just having some fun when he pulled a passenger aside at Philadelphia International Airport and confronted her with a white powder that he had secretly planted in her luggage inside a plastic bag. The terrified woman, Rebecca Solomon, age 22, a student at the University of Michigan, broke into tears when falsely accused of hiding a dangerous substance.
The security agent tried to shrug it off as a joke, but nobody was laughing. Another female passenger witnessed the shakedown, and after clearing security, both women reported the matter to airport police.
The badly shaken Ms. Solomon called the twenty seconds of inappropriate behavior by the security worker "a personal violation." TSA supervisors agreed. The early January incident led to an investigation and review.
CAPTIONS: (ABOVE LEFT) Rebecca Solomon (Photo Credit - Philadelpia Inquirer); (BELOW RIGHT UPPER) Caleb Leibowitz and his sister arrives in the Louisville, Kentucky (Photo Credit - Courier-Journal); (BELOW LEFT) Joshua Romirowsky demonstrates how the tefillin is worn (Photo Credit - Philadelpia Inquirer); (BELOW RIGHT LOWER) Police follow US Airways Express Flight 3079 at Philadelphia International Airport (Photo Credit - Philadelphia Inquirer)
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On January 21, just two days ago, TSA spokeswoman Ann Davis confirmed to a journalist at the Philadelphia Inquirer, that the worker is no longer employed by TSA. For privacy reasons, she could not indicate if the man was fired, or had resigned his position.
Previously, we had reported on a bizarre tale of passengers at Heathrow Airport in London, and on U.S. domestic flights whose jokes about bombs, or odd behaviors caused flights to be delayed or diverted, and the persons involved arrested. What happened two days ago on U.S. Airways Express Flight 3079 from La Guardia Airport in New York, to Louisville, Kentucky is even stranger.
An orthodox Jewish teenager, 17-year-old Caleb Liebowitz, who was traveling with his 16-year-old sister to visit their grandmother, began to observe his morning prayer rituals, the placing of tiny boxes, called Tefillin, containing scripture to his upper arm and forehead. The practice is usually performed in the privacy on one's home, but is also seen in public places.
The flight attendant mistook the religious implements as terrorist bombs, and alerted the cockpit crew,
who diverted the flight to Philadelphia, where law enforcement agents briefly questioned the high school students, before allowing them to resume their flight. As FBI spokesperson J.J. Klaver put it at a media conference, "Tefillin are something that the average person is not going to see very often, if ever."
Usually in times of stress, people turn to prayer. But even that simple act of faith can be misunderstood.
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Comments
It's unbelievable that a TSA agent would PLANT fake drugs on an unknowing passenger as a joke. How is that remotely funny?
That's just crazy! I hope his name goes on some sort of list so he never gets hired in the security field again.
That was soooo wrong! I agree with Bobbi - hope he is kept from any type of security position.
The TSA agent should have been dismissed immediately. There is no excuse for such behavior.
The Jewish teenager should have been questioned by the flight attendant before going to such measures as diverting the flight. Or maybe the teen should have told the flight attendant in advance...as he surely realized this could/would be observed as odd behavior to most.
Simply inexcusable behaviors and actions- both incidents. Nice article, Joel.
Cheers...
This is fodder for a sitcom. The incompetence boggles the imagination. Ms. Solomon's father is a litigator- we may not have heard the end of this. Something like this could cause a heart-attack- maybe they would think twice before doing something like this to someone older. With the kind of power the TSA currently wields in airports and confusion about passenger rights, thinking someone planted something in your bag is beyond frightening.
People and airline workers need to calm down and use common sense.
Maybe they should have a ridiculously cheap airline called, "Idiot Airways"?
I really don't understand why that TSA did that... it makes no sense.
Those poor kids....I can't believe the incompetence of these employees. Thanks for this article, Joel.
Just goes to show you the quality staff that TSA employs. Oy!
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