Someone that asks what is suspicious, and is covertly fishing for activity they should avoid so not to draw suspicion.


I'm not paranoid, I just don't trust anyone. :cool:

I doubt you know me well enough to guess. The only reason I haven't responded sooner is I'm trying to think of some.

Let's see - It would probably take a combination of things to really get me nervous.

A passenger putting something in the galley or lavatory - of course depends on what it is.

An individual or several people trying to distract or block a FA.

A glimpse of some type of prohibited weapon - a real one, not the bogus liquid type.

Sudden changes in behavior - such as a group seen together in other areas of airport who suddenly act as complete strangers

Adults who pay too much attention to children traveling alone. (I'm a mom)

These are some examples of behaviour I would continue to observe. Of course they could all have a logical explanation, just something to keep an eye on.

Ned69 - You gave me a good laugh. :)

Of all of those, the only one I've seen in decades of travel is #5 ... and even then it's subject to interpretation.

I've never seen inappropriate attention toward children, but I have seen weary road warriors who missed their kids warm up to well-behaved, cheerful kids who were marvelling in their first airplane ride.

I still laugh about that one flight with the two unaccompanied children. The sister was maybe 7 and oh so in-charge and responsible about making sure her well-behaved 4 yo brother stayed in line. Simultaneously serious, touching and funny. Good times.

Your list sounds reasonable on paper (and I realize you were kind of put on the spot for it so I won't tear it apart). However, like all lists there is an awful lot that can be left to individual interpretation and there is much room for abuse. As a victim of such abuse, I don't like the idea of putting such power in the hands of other passengers. I'm on the plane to get somewhere, not to be voted off the bloody thing.

The problem is anyone can look suspicious for a number of reasons - nervousness about flying could be one of them. People wanting to cause trouble are likely to try and hide any obvious signs anyway.

I agree with who ever said the TSA

Sorry, but I have to :D at the thought of that one.

Most of the FAs that I've seen in the past few years are pretty vigilant, and
would probably be far more aware of risk factors than even the most seasoned travellers. I'd help if I saw signs of distress, though.

Too iffy. I prosecute weapons offences on a regular basis, and I find it extremely difficult to differentiate replicas from the real thing without careful analysis, something that is just not possible with an eye......g. One of the exhibits at one of my trials yesterday was something I first thought to be a small handgun. When I yelled at an attending officer to keep the damned thing secure, he smiled pityingly and told me that it was a cigarette lighter.
:D

Oy. Have you ever travelled with family members?

I'm not sure that I'd want to assign negative connotations to people who may just be looking out for stray youngsters. If we yell "predator" every time a good samaritan's acts are misconstrued, they'll stop acting, and THEN something bad will happen.

Seriously, I'm not trying to pick on your suggestions. It's always wise to be vigilant, but I'm well aware of the limitations of my own observations as well, and try to rationalize odd behaviour first before acting on my own impulses.

Since she is a Mom, I'm sure she wasnt talking about samaratins. More likely she was refering the the "can you help me look for my lost puppy ..." types of behavior from adults interacting with kids.

Good comments - I don't think I'd disagree with any of them. I'll just continue to be an extra pair of eyes and be ready to assist if needed. The same attitude I take in deserted parking lots, shopping malls and other such areas. I'm not going to be the nervous lady who's preyed upon. I'm going to be the Texas gal who goes down swinging. :D Where do you think I got my nickname?

This may make me sound goofy or something, but I can't really describe what I term as "suspicious behavior" . I just get a feeling sometimes about certain people. Maybe it's body language, how they look at things or people, I don't know.

I spent most of my adult life in emergency services as a paramedic, FF, 911 dispatcher, etc. and lived with cops in the family all my life. One thing my dad taught me was to pay attention when you get that sneaking feeling that something ain't right. Over the years, that feeling has kept me from getting struck by unstable patients and/or their friends and family, ducking at the right time before getting shot at, and once got me out of a burning building before the roof collapsed 2 seconds after I crawled out.

With that said, I've never witnessed any real threatening suspicious behavior in or around airports or flights. I've seen tons of WEIRD behavior, but that is just human nature. Some people are just a little different ;)

Safe travels
Tim

^ ^

Also, I find it suspicious when someone sitting next to me orders a shot of vodka and downs it with an Ambien (or similar) right after takeoff. I should have noted suspicious activity earlier but alas, I didn't know any better as I was only 12 at the time. I don't want a 250-pound male stranger snoring IN MY LAP ever again.

The one time I was on a flight when something really suspicious went down, I and all the other passengers (save one) were clueless.

Last leg of a trip, small commuter plane where almost all of those on board were frequent flyers and knew each other. Very long taxi to the runway, then the pilot announced a "mechanical" necessitated a return to the gate. Another very long taxi out to the far edge of the airport, not near any gate, and we were quickly surrounded by six armed officers (no mechanics) - 2 airport, 4 police from that city, as well as two K-9's who proceeded around the plane.

We were all asked to deplane; as I was near the back, I did not see that one of the first passengers off was handcuffed and hauled off immediately; other passengers told me about it. After about forty-five minutes of officers and dogs searching and sniffing the plane, we were all re-screened and re-boarded (well, all except one) with no explanation, then took off uneventfully.

Upon arrival at our destination, there was an array of tearful relatives and friends in wait, who had been told our flight was delayed because of a bomb threat. First we had heard of it, and no one had observed any suspicious passenger behavior either. :confused: