Chutzpah

“One week ago, I went to Ohio on business and to see my father. On Tuesday, the 17th, I returned home. If you read the papers the 18th you may have seen a blurb about where an Air Tran flight was canceled from Atlanta to Houston due to a man who refused to get off of his cell phone before take- off.. The story was only on Fox News. That was NOT what really happened.

I was seated in 1st class coming home. Eleven Muslim men got on the plane in full Muslim attire. Two of them sat in 1st class and the rest seated themselves throughout the plane, in coach class, all the way to the back. As the plane taxied out to the runway, the stewardesses gave the safety spiel that we are all so familiar with.

At that time, one of the men in 1st class, got on his cell and called one of his companions back in coach. He proceeded to talk on the phone in Arabic very loudly and very, very aggressively. This activity took the 1st stewardess out of action for she repeatedly told the man that cell phones were not permitted at that time. He ignored her as if she were not there. The man, who answered the phone back in the coach section, did the same and this took out the 2nd stewardess. Further back in the plane, at the same time, two younger Muslims, one in the back on the aisle, and one sitting in front of him by the window, began to show footage of a porno video they had taped the night before. They were very loud about it.

The 3rd stewardess informed the two men that they were not to have any electronic devices on at this time. One of the men said "shut up infidel dog!"

The stewardess attempted to take the camcorder and the Muslim began to scream in her face in Arabic. At that exact moment, all eleven of the men got up and started to walk throughout the cabin. I guess that because of the noise, the flight crew must have decided that there was something amiss and changed the plane's directions to head back to the terminal.

The commotion and noise was reaching a feverish pitch, and at this point I had had enough! I got up and started towards the back of 1st class when I heard a voice behind me from another Texan twice my size, say, "I got your back." Then I grabbed the man, who had been on the cell phone, by the arm and said, "You WILL sit down in your seat or you WILL be thrown from this plane!" As I "led" him around me to take his seat, the fellow Texan grabbed him by the back of his neck and his waist and headed him back to his seat. I then grabbed the 2nd man and said, "You WILL do the same!"

He protested loudly, but my adrenaline was flowing now and he was going to go also. Just as I escorted him forward, the plane stopped, the doors opened and three TSA agents and four police officers entered the cabin. Myself and my new Texas friend were told to cease and desist for they had the situation under control.

I was quite happy to oblige, actually. There was still some sort of commotion in the back, but within moments, all eleven Muslim men were escorted off the plane. The TSA agents then had their luggage unloaded. We talked about the occurrence and were in disbelief that it had happened.

Then suddenly, the door opened again and in walked all eleven Muslim men! Stone faced, eyes front and robotic, (the only way I can describe it) and they were reseated. The stewardess from the back had been in tears and when she saw the men, she was having NONE of it! Since I was up front, I heard and saw the whole ordeal. She told the TSA agents that there was NO WAY she was staying on the plane with the Muslim men. The agent told her that they had searched the men and were going through their luggage with a fine tooth comb. However, nothing had been found and that the men were allowed to proceed on to Houston.

The captain and co-captain came out of the cockpit and told the agent, "We and our crew will not fly this plane!" After a word or two, the entire crew, luggage in tow, left the plane. Five minutes later, the cabin door opened again and a whole new crew walked on. Again, this was where I had had enough! I got up and asked the TSA agent,” What the hell is going on?

I was told to take my seat. The airlines and TSA were sorry for the delay and we would be home shortly. I said, "I'm getting off this plane". The stewardess sternly told me that she could not allow me to get off. Now I'm really mad! I said, "I am a grown man who bought this ticket, whose time is mine, with a family at home, and I am going through that door, or I'm going through that door with you under my arm, but I AM going through that door!"

And then I heard a voice behind me say, "So am I!" Then everyone behind us started to get up and say the same thing. Within two minutes, I was walking off that plane where I was met by more TSA agents, who asked me to write a statement about the incident. I had five hours to kill at this point waiting for the next flight to Houston , so why the hell not give them my statement. Due to the amount of people who got off that flight, it was canceled. I was supposed to be in Houston at 6 PM, but I finally got there at 12:30 AM. If you don't believe this, look up the date and then Flight 297 from Atlanta to Houston.

If this wasn't a terrorism dry run, I don't know what is. The terrorists wanted to see how TSA would handle it, how the crew would handle it, and how the passengers would handle it. I'm telling this to you because I want you to know. The threat IS real. I saw it with my own eyes."

Tedd Petruna