Wednesday, October 10, 2001

 

A message to terrorists

Intruder wrestled from cockpit.

This incident, more than any other not directly related to the Sept. 11 attacks, should prove to Osama bin Laden and the terrorist network that Americans are ready and willing to fight back.

For anyone who hasn't heard, on Monday a man stormed into the cockpit of a jet Monday afternoon, throwing the Chicago-bound plane into a momentary dive before crew and passengers tackled the man, binding him with the seat belts used by flight attendants to demonstrate safety procedures. Two F-16 fighter jets scrambled at supersonic speeds to escort the American Airlines 767 to the ground, while passengers dragged the man to a galley, sat on him and a nurse injected him with a sedative stored in a cockpit kit.

"First the man blew right by me, and then the passengers were right on his tail," said Kevan Lyon, a San Diego book distributor sitting in first class. "It's like the passengers just knew what to do by instinct. Over the last few weeks, we've been trained to do this."

That's right. Trained. Osama bin Laden's cronies trained us. Ongoing news coverage of the passengers who thwarted terrorist efforts on Flight 93 that crashed in Pennsylvania trained us. U.S. citizen's newfound patriotism trained us.

I don't have much more to say on the subject. I think the incident speaks for itself, and I think it sends a powerful message to terrorists.

posted by Anne 10/10/2001 10:16:00 AM