In a telephone interview, Fischvogt also told me, "we received word from the pilot about the suspicious activity before the flight landed." Fischvogt explained that when Flight 518 landed, it sat on the tarmac for 45 minutes before FBI "took jurisdiction," boarded the plane and arrested two people. DHS and local law enforcement were also present on the tarmac but "FBI took over the sight and the situation," Fischvogt said."Wait a minute," I asked, "The passengers were stuck inside the plane with two bad guys for 45 minutes before law enforcement boarded the aircraft?" I wanted to make sure I heard Fischvogt correctly.
"Yes," Fischvogt confirmed.
Consider the agencies present 24/7 at the federalized Raleigh-Durham International Airport: FBI, DHS, (TSA & Federal Air Marshal Service), Joint Terrorism Task Force, ICE (Immigrations and Customs Enforcement) and airport police. And yet it took seven law enforcement agencies some forty-five minutes to put a single officer on the plane to counter the threat and secure the aircraft?
My analysis is that the delay was caused by FBI and DHS fighting over who had jurisdiction; protocol over 'acts of air piracy' are a constant source of bickering between the two agencies and have been the subject of at least one DHS Inspector General's Report.
Guess I need to go earn millions of dollars now so I can own a personal jet - which prevents me from ever having to put up with any of this tomfoolery.
1 comments:
either get your own jet or do what i do--don't travel any further than you can drive in a car. i realize i've just limited my life to the east coast, but i'm okay with that. i like jersey. i like florida. i can reach both in about eight hours. how long to fly? gotta get up, drive the hour to the airport, find a spot, check in at least an hour early for the flight, wait an hour because the flight is delayed in cincinnati, fly the two hours to newark, deplane, wait for luggage, drive the hour back home. that's pretty even to me. and in my car i can listen to whatever music i want, eat whatever food i want, turn on the air or the heat, stop at any point, recline my seat until it lies entirely flat, and scream at the top of my lungs "i hate you all and hope you die!!!" and no one will arrest me.
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