I’m really torn about this. To me, it’s just another sign that airport security is a joke and nothing more than an inconvenience for travelers. When I first heard that another guy managed to get on a plane with a dangerous device of some kind, I felt vindicated about my position on “airport security.”
Then it turns out, that the suspect is a diplomat from Qatar named Mohammaed Al Modadi, who is assigned to the embassy in Washington D.C. and the picture became clearer.
I’m speculating of course, but come along with me. How much do you want to bet that this whole thing was nothing more than a case of “Harold and Kumar escape from Guantanamo?”
Al Modadi was confronted by air marshalls after flight attendants claim they saw smoke coming from the lavatory that he was using. Al Modadi allegedly said “I was trying to light my shoes on fire” and BAM! Air marshalls wrestle him to the ground and the shenanigans ensue.
Fighter jets get scrambled, everyone goes on high alert and Al Modadi gets detained in Denver. Given that he is a diplomat, and possibly has diplomatic immunity, he should be free from jail by the time you read this.
Here’s a picture of the guy, he’s on the right:
The incident happened on a United Airlines flight from Washington D.C. to Denver Colorado. The little guy was travelling on official embassy business, according to MSNBC.
Fast forward… The plane lands in Denver without further incident and no explosives are found on the plane.
I think this line about sums up the whole thing:
Officials insisted Wednesday night it was still too early to tell whether the incident was an attempted act of terrorism or a giant misunderstanding.
Al Modadi apparently said the “I was trying to light my shoes on fire” in a very sarcastic voice. What he was actually doing, allegedly, was smoking in the lavatory.
Let’s get one thing straight, IT’S ILLEGAL TO SMOKE on a plane in US airspace. It is NOT FUNNY to joke about lighting your shoes on fire on a plane.
Maybe Al Modadi didn’t notice all the “NO SMOKING” signs or maybe he didn’t think that the rules applied to him or maybe something entirely different happened. Regardless, the guy should’ve known better than to joke about lighting his shoes on fire, and he should not have been smoking on the plane.
Here’s that scene from Harold and Kumar that I was talking about earlier.
On a different note: I don’t think he would’ve said that he was trying to light his shoes on fire, had he actually been trying to light his shoes on fire.
What do you think about this whole mess?
