SteveMSflyer

DEL#408, MIA to JFK lands and pilot announces all passengers remain seated. Several got up and the FA picked up phone, pilot comes back on and says all passengers remain seated as Federal Agents are boarding. Five large gentlemen board and remove a "gentlemen" from the aircraft. Pilot says thank you and you can now deplane...... Interesting.

Asiaflyguy

Happens more than you think

ND76

If you are a criminal suspect, fugitive or have an outstanding warrant, the worst thing you can do is get on an airplane where you're on a ticket in your own name.

I've been on a couple of flights this decade where marshals have been escorting a shackled prisoner. At ELP, I was on the first flight out to ATL in the morning and, when I got to the gate, the pilots, flight attendants and all the other passengers were waiting at the gate with the boarding door closed. About 5 minutes later, from the opposite end of the concourse from security, two marshals are escorting a prisoner in a blue jumpsuit. On cue, the GA opened the door and the threesome went immediately on board, bound for the last row; the pilots and FAs followed, and then boarding started a few minutes later. When we got to ATL, the threesome deplaned via the emergency stairs in the back of the MD-88; the paddywagon was waiting for them on the tarmac.

When I did the "Walk a Mile" with the ATL gate agents in October, 2010, one of our passengers was an FBI agent who was packing heat (the GAs were alerted as to who he was and he was allowed to board first). When I saw your title "Federal Agents", I was thinking of that gentleman.

HongKonger

This is all you need to know.

wrx

Getting slightly OT for the DL forum, but a couple weeks back, I had a BCN-AMS flight (KL1666) that was delayed on departure due to police activity - they had a deportee and a pair of police escorts boarding from the tarmac into the back row. He was handcuffed in, but shouting and struggling throughout boarding and the entire flight. I was near the front, and it was still loud. I can only imagine how bad it must have been for the passengers in back... by comparison, agents "assisting" in deplaning somebody sounds downright pleasant.

steveholt

Was on LHR-JFK on DL a few years ago and had a very strange experience. About 2/3rds of the way through the (afternoon) flight, crew shut off the entertainment system. Landed at JFK and taxied to a remote part of the airport, at which point the pilot told us to stay in our seats with our seat belts buckled. 10 minutes passed and the pilot/crew got very curt with people who were taking their seat belts off, let alone the lone guy who stood up. Maybe 10 minutes later, without warning, a bunch of federal agents came onto the plane, went deep into the Y cabin, and brought out two men. They came back twice for two more passengers in different parts of the cabin, which was odd. The pilot then told us that there had been a threat against the aircraft while we were in flight. No idea what that had to do with those four people in question. Then we ended up taxiing to a domestic gate, so we were stuck on the plane for another 20 minutes for a customs setup. By the time we got out to baggage claim, everyone's bags were off of the belt and arranged neatly.

readywhenyouare

You would think of there had been a credible threat to the aircraft that that the pilots or dispatchers would have diverted the flight as quickly as possible.

photojojo

Well, that and had the agents in a staging area ready for the plane rather than waiting 20 minutes, especially with the field offices in proximity to JFK.

After landing in SFO a few years ago we were directed west somewhere near the post office area where we were greeted by a few marked police cars and no less than 5 black Suburbans and a staircase truck. On they came and plucked the well dressed man I was sitting across the aisle from. (3A and 3D).

Back in 2005 I was returning home from MUC and there was a long delay after boarding. We were all clearly ready to go, and I think they said they were waiting for something about the fuel, I don't recall the excuse but nothing felt out of the ordinary and the doors were still open. Without incident or warning all of the sudden four uniformed KSK soldiers came from the back of the plane (apparently entering through the rear) with a passenger in their custody. After spending time with the German and US special forces in Afghanistan between 2002-2003 I recognized their uniforms and weaponry compared to SEK or GSG 9, so whomever this person was, they must have been on someone's intelligence radar.

355F1

I realize that the OPs situation was one where the name of the person taken into custody was probably matched with the FBI or Interpol database after the flight was already en route. So of course agents will be there to take the person into custody.

Some of you have also related stories about handcuffed inmates on planes. This actually shouldn't be shocking. Every state and country flies inmates on commercial aircraft with armed guards. The Feds in the US actually have aircraft they use to transport prisoners across the US. Internationally, however almost all wanted individuals or inmates are transported using commercial flights.

The Feds in the US DO transport high-profile inmates singularly on federally-siezed private jets, though. That is common.

But usually the Feds transport by bus. They have a network or busses that connect many of the federal prisons that operate on a regular schedule once or twice a week.

If you are an problematic inmate that continuously violates rules they utilize what's called "diesel therapy." What they do is transport you across the country back and forth a few times by bus. A trip from West-East typically takes 10 days. You are handcuffed and shackled the entire time. You don't get your mail. You have no commissary, no phone calls or anything.

It makes me laugh that people on this forum sometimes complain about having to take a 10-12hr flight in Y.

Try sitting on a hard seat handcuffed and shackled for 10-12hrs--it literally is the most uncomfortable form of transportation on can experience.

Absolutely hated it.

photojojo

I can only think of one less enjoyable flight, and that's from stories my friends at Gitmo have told me. It wasn't so much the comfort of the flight but the results once they were back in the "care" of their friends.

readywhenyouare

Well, were you cooperative after that experience?

355F1

Damn....much of this I'm sure isn't made public....


I wasn't a problematic inmate; I was transferred from Washington to California by bus and then back about 4 years later.

steveholt

I thought the same thing.

udontknowme

Maybe the Operation Coordinator used to be a scheduler at the VA.

HongKonger

Punishment, physical discomfort, isolation and other typical forms of prison punishment almost never make prisoners more cooperative. Just the opposite.

But let's get back to the important issues presented by this thread--namely, whether there was compensation for turning off the IFE?