PAX REMOVED BEFORE DEP DUE TO SUSPICIOUS CONDUCT.

2003-03 · NASA ASRS report 577789

Date: 2003-03 · Aircraft: MD-80 Series (DC-9-80) Undifferentiated or Other Model · Phase: ground

Anomalies: flight-deck-cabin-aircraft-event-other-unknown|other-security-concern-prior-to-dep

Synopsis

PAX REMOVED BEFORE DEP DUE TO SUSPICIOUS CONDUCT.

Narrative

CONDUCTED CREW SECURITY BRIEFING PRIOR TO BOARDING INCLUDING MY REQUEST TO BE INFORMED OF ANY SUSPICIOUS BEHAVIOR BY PAX. APPROX FIVE MINS BEFORE SCHEDULED DEP; THE FLT ATTENDANT CAME TO THE COCKPIT TO INFORM ME OF UNUSUAL BEHAVIOR BY A PAX WHO MOVED HIMSELF FROM SEAT X0 TO AN AISLE SEAT IN COACH TOWARDS THE REAR OF THE CABIN. IT STRUCK US AS VERY UNUSUAL FOR SOMEONE WHO HAS PAID FOR FIRST CLASS TO MOVE TO COACH. HE SAID HE WAS CLAUSTROPHOBIC AND WANTED TO HAVE MORE OPEN SPACE. HE ALSO SAID THAT HE TOLD THE AGENTS THIS WHEN HE CHKED IN. HIS PASSPORT WAS CANADIAN AND SHOWED RECENT TRIPS TO BARBADOS WITH FEW IF ANY OTHER ENTRIES. HE STATED THAT HE FLEW OUR AIRLINES ALL THE TIME. IN LIGHT OF OUR ELEVATED LEVEL OF NATIONAL SECURITY AND WITH DUE REGARD TO RECENT SECURITY CIRCULARS AND BULLETINS ISSUED BY GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES I DEEMED IT PRUDENT TO TAKE A FEW MINUTES TO INVESTIGATE THIS INDIVIDUAL A LITTLE FURTHER DUE TO HIS UNUSUAL BEHAVIOR. I PROCEEDED TO THE CHK IN DESK AND ENLISTED THE HELP OF A SUPVR WHO WAS VERY COOPERATIVE. THE AGENTS KNEW NOTHING OF HIS CLAIM TO HAVE ALERTED THEM OF HIS CLAUSTROPHOBIA AND HIS PASSPORT DID NOT INDICATE FREQUENT TRAVEL. I REQUESTED THAT THE AGENT INFORM HIM THAT FOR SECURITY REASONS WE WERE GOING TO REQUIRE HIM TO SIT IN HIS ORIGINAL ASSIGNED SEAT 'NON AISLE.' THE AGENT DID CONFER WITH HIM AND THEN MOVED HIM TO SEAT X1 WHICH IS AN AISLE SEAT. I RESTATED TO THE AGENT THAT I WANTED HIM IN HIS ORIGINAL WINDOW SEAT BECAUSE IT AFFORDED AN ADDED MEASURE OF SECURITY FOR OUR FLT ATTENDANTS. THE AGENT CALLED CUSTOMER SERVICE AND AFTER CONSULT REMOVED THE PAX.

Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.

Loading the flight search…

Frequently asked questions

How do I search flights by aircraft type on FlightFinder?

Pick an aircraft model — Boeing 737, Airbus A320, A380, Boeing 787 Dreamliner and more — enter your origin airport, and FlightFinder shows every route that plane flies from there with live fares.

Which aircraft types can I filter by?

We support Boeing 737/747/757/767/777/787, the full Airbus A220/A319/A320/A321/A330/A340/A350/A380 family, Embraer E170/E175/E190/E195, Bombardier CRJ and Dash 8, and the ATR 42/72 turboprops.

Is FlightFinder free to use?

Search and schedules are free. Pro ($4.99/month, $39/year, or $99 one-time lifetime) unlocks the enriched flight card — on-time stats, CO₂ per passenger, amenities, live gate & weather — plus My Trips with push alerts.

Where does the route data come from?

Live schedules come from Amadeus, AeroDataBox and Travelpayouts. Observed routes (which aircraft actually flew a given city pair) are crowdsourced from adsb.lol ADS-B data under the Open Database License.