Worst Passenger of the Week: Actions Sometimes Speak Louder Than Words

Every Friday, FlyerTalk looks back at the week’s most charming individuals. While there are always plenty of contenders for our Worst Passenger of the Week award, only one lucky flyer can take home the glory. Here are this week’s winners.

Third Place – “This 120mm practice tank warhead was detected in a checked bag”

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) maintains a helpful @AskTSA Twitter account to allow travelers an opportunity to ask the experts exactly what items passengers are and are not allowed to bring on commercial airline flights. Some flyers might be surprised to learn, for example, that okra is allowed in carry-on bags with no restrictions, but that peanut butter is considered a liquid (even when spread on crackers) and is subject to the same restrictions as shampoo.

Had a passenger at El Paso International Airport (ELP) thought to “Ask TSA” at any point before arriving at the airport if packing a 120mm tank warhead in a checked bag is permitted by regulations, then a dew inevitable problems could have been easily avoided. Unfortunately, inspectors were only able to offer a definitive “no” after the battlefield ordinance was discovered during a somewhat unnerving screening process.

The practice “warhead” was inert, but the TSA reminds flyers that even fake explosives can cause real trouble at the airport. “We don’t know items such as this one are inert until our explosives professionals take a closer look, and that takes time and slows down the line,” the TSA patiently explains. “It can even lead to a complete shutdown and evacuation.”

The harmless but intimidating replica warhead isn’t the only mind-boggling item reported in the latest “TSA Week in Review” roll call of bizarre items seized at airport security checkpoints around the US. It seems that a few of the past week’s passengers didn’t need to consult with the TSA before traveling – they clearly knew full well that they were breaking the rules. The list of creative but ultimately failed attempts to sneak prohibited items on flights includes the passenger who hid a gun in a wheelchair cushion at McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS), the rather obvious toothbrush knife at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE) and a nifty cane-concealed-sword at Lehigh Valley International Airport (ABE).

The Runner-up – “Luckily there were three big Polish men in the row behind …”

Like many of the countless prior instances of flyers attempting to open the exit door of a passenger jet in mid-air, the scary behavior from the passenger on a Wizz Air flight from Katowice International Airport (KTW) to London Luton Airport (LTN) didn’t exactly come out of the blue. Fellow travelers say the unidentified man’s bizarre behavior started long before his attempt to make an early exit from the aircraft about 30 minutes before landing.

Passengers say the disruptive passenger already appeared agitated on the shuttle bus ride to the plane and continued to act in an odd manner throughout the flight. Additionally, the anxious passenger further telegraphed his malevolent intentions when he inexplicably squeezed into a seat next to a woman in the emergency exit row just before the plane was scheduled to arrive at its destination.

“Suddenly he lunged across her and tried to open the door,” passenger David Salon told BBC News. “She was terrified. Luckily there were three big Polish men in the row behind and they and some other passengers wrestled him to the floor and sat on him.”

Although it is physically impossible for a passenger to open an emergency exit while a commercial passenger jet is in flight, eyewitnesses say that the ensuing struggle created some tense moments until the rampaging flyer was brought to heel. A flight attendant used the seat belt from the preflight safety demonstration to help restrain the out-of-control man. The flight landed safely without further incident and the problem passenger was taken into custody by law enforcement shortly after the plane touched down.

In this case, the “three large polish men” clearly outmatched the aggressive escape artist. The passenger, was taken by police to a local hospital to be treated for “minor injuries.”

The Winner – “This plane is going to land beautifully and kindly!”

It doesn’t take very long to fly from Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) to Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH). A passenger still managed to cause a lot of trouble during her short hour-long United Airlines flight between the two Gulf coast destinations.

The disruptive flyer first made herself known with a rather uplifting message for her fellow passengers. Although undoubtedly annoying, the woman’s oddly tranquil rant doesn’t sound at all threatening on its face.

Eyewitnesses say the oddly behaving air traveler loudly repeated a series of disjointed, but optimistic phrases. “We are all protected and loved! We are all protected and loved!” the disruptive passenger reportedly announced, adding, “This plane is going to land beautifully and kindly!” Unfortunately, the woman’s positive mantra belied more sinister intentions. She allegedly began banging on the wall of the cabin and sprinting towards the flight deck without warning.

While the thought of a potentially disturbed flyer rushing towards the cockpit might intimidate most travelers, passenger Julian Markowitz wants everyone to know that he had the situation well at hand from the very onset.

“As soon as she started running, I stand up and ask the flight attendant, ‘Can I help you with this? Do you need help?’” Markowitz told ABC News. “She said go for it, so I gently pushed the flight attendant out of the way and started sprinting after the woman myself … I sort of smiled to give everyone the sense that everyone is fine, the situation was under control. She was not of sound mind, but anyone who would have more malicious intent would have been subdued in a similar fashion. That reflects the vigilance that American travelers have in this era.”

[Photo: Shutterstock]