I was watching CNN Headline News during lunch when I heard that AirTrans has filed a lawsuit against that #@*%#@# idiot that ran up (down?) and escalator to avoid going through a security checkpoint at the Atlanta Airport.
The guy says he did not know he caused all the commotion and uproar. Hmm…I decide to avoid security, I run up(down?)an escalator going the opposite direction, security people are yelling at me to stop, but I didn’t know they meant ME!!! And yeah I know he keeps saying he was concerned about his son waiting at the airline gate, but he wasn’t too concerned when he left his son to go back after that camera, and he had to know he would have to go back through security. I just don’t buy the I was concerned for my son bit. What he was concerned about, IMHO, was he would miss his flight and not get to Oxford, MS in time for a football game.
That being said, I say sic em AirTrans!!! I also say sic em 10,000 people he caused to be delayed for 4 hours but I’ll save that one for a possible pit rant
The question is, what do you think? Should AirTrans sue? Should this @##*&%#$% idiot get the book thrown at him? Right now he faces no federal charges and it appears he won’t but shouldn’t he? I think so!
He should have the living daylights sued out of him. There is no possible way he could have been unaware of the commotion he was causing. However much he might feign ignorance of the extreme economic impact his actions had, it is supremely unlikely any adult could not understand this in the wake of 9/11. Regardless, he needs to be made an example of. I think having his paychecks garnished for a few decades ought to get the message through his thick skull.
[gratuitious swipe at AirTran]
I hadn’t known before this what airline that poor schlub was flying. I don’t excuse the fool for shutting down Hartsfield all by his lonesome, but given the way AirTran has randomly switched gates and muffed connections on me over the past year, I find his situation a bit more understandable.
[/gratuitous swipe at AirTran]
Man, we were talking about this over the weekend. Glad you posted. Hell yeah this idiot is liable for something or another. My sister was supposed to meet her hubby in Atl and continue on together for a weekend in Fla. But when she called at the last minute to check on her flight, they said they couldn’t guarantee anything earlier than the following night. My bro-in-law had gottent to Hartsfield early, and jumped on one of the last fights out. So he spent the weekend alone in Fla. Doubt he has gotten laid since. How much for loss of consortium?
All I can say is, I hope it is one hell of a camera you bozo! Nope. No way you could replace a frigging camera.
Yeah, like I couldn’t imagine any reason why airport security might be especially tight this day and age…
Makes me reconsider my general opposition to capital punishment. Unfortunately, this cretin has already spawned, thereby inflicting his genes upon another generation.
There’s no way this idiot makes enough coin to reimburse the airline or the individuals for their lost time and inconvenience. Yep, slap him with a $10,000. fine but also make the retard do some jail time on the weekends or a buttload of community service.
In light of fears after 9/11, what he did was inexcusable and he needs the f*ck swatted outta him.
Please realize I don’t consider my sister’s problems the greatest injury this guy caused. Merely trying to illustrate how this guy’s selfishness inconvenienced folk many miles from Atlanta.
Anyone with expertise have any ideas as to grounds for a lawsuit against him? Tortious interference with business for just about every company and individual doing business with the airport, and with an employee kept from their duties by this? What type of negligence/recklessness against individuals, and how do you assess damages?
He was making a connection on Northwest Airlines to go to the Georgia-Mississippi football game that weekend.
Dinsdale writes:
I think there should be some federal charges for endangering security or something. He bypassed a security checkpoint with an object that had not been cleared. That ought to be enough for some type of federal charge, I think.
Let’s see…and I quote…"@##*&%#$% idiot"…“should have the living daylights sued out of him”…“thick skull.”…“poor schlub”…“bozo”…“Makes me reconsider my general opposition to capital punishment. Unfortunately, this cretin has already spawned, thereby inflicting his genes upon another generation.”…“retard”
I can’t believe I’m reading this at the SDMB.
I think it’s a bit unfair to make such a harsh judgement about his actions based on such a short CNN article. If they want to sue him, fine…let the court consider all the details and circumstances and judge what he is liable for. The opinions here seem very reactionary…but maybe you folks are more familiar with this particular story than I am (I have only seen the link provided).
We all make mistakes. Having children can amplify this (fellow parents out there know how tired & crazy kids can make you at times).
But, if he intentionally made his dumb move worse and caused great financial loss, then yes, he should be liable.
But also consider this…from now on, security will be on high alert. Many people make dumb moves…and often. Do we want each event to shut down the system & wind up in a big court case? Or do we want such a mob mentality reaction to each event?
Such reckless behavior is absolutely inexcusable for any adult who can turn on a TV set or read the newspaper after the events of 9/11. The guy deserves whatever punishment he receives for his irresponsible actions.
Since this guy made his dash on the escalator there have been at least two more such instances. One was in Seattle where it was discovered that an inspection machine was not detecting correctly. The airport was cleared and it ended up just about as bad as the Atlanta ordeal. In the last couple of days, it happened in Memphis. Someone that did not understand English kept walking when he was told to wait. And again the airport was closed for 3 hours.
Now each one of these cost a lot of money along with causing an unmeasurable amount of stress. We are willing to put up with these kind of instances now, but I doubt that it can continue, especially with the financial condition of the airline industry.
Phobos - this may not have been big news in Taxachusetts, but as I understand it the situation was this guy goes through security to his gate. Near boarding time, he realizes he left his camera at the ticket counter. goes back to get the camera, leaving his kid at the gate. Realizes he will not have time to go back to the gate in time to make his plane, so he intentionally circumvents security by going up or down an escalator the wrong way.
The security guards shout at him, but are instructed not to pursue. Instead the entire airport is shut down. (In case you are not familiar, Hartsfield is a kinda major airport.) Hundreds of flights are interrupted and cancelled, and thousands of folk are herded into the parking lots where they spend hours.
I admit that this is only a thumbnail sketch. Feel free to search the net on your own for more complete info.
But please give me any spin whereby this is anything other than inexcusably ignorant and selfish.
Thanks for the clarification, Dinsdale. That makes more sense for these reactions than the CNN article does. What you describe is certainly wrong. Parental concern is probably this guy’s best defense. But I don’t think it’s gonna cut it.
Apparently the rage of those who have to wait an hour for their flights knows no bounds.
But jeepers, I thought calling him a “poor schlub” was a lovetap compared to some of those other phrases :eek:.
To reverse myself and treat the OP more seriously, I must argue that security forces went seriously over the top by shutting down an entire major airport, with at least nine widely-separated terminals and many thousands of people inside them, for hours, over a point incident in one location. To what degree should one person be held responsible for what was clearly an overreaction? I submit that any sensible security plan would have identified this almost instantly as an isolated, non-threatening incident and the shutdown would never have happened.
In the Bay Area we had this idiot DJ (I believe it was “Mancow” Muller, and am almost positive it was KMEL) pull off a stunt on the Bay Bridge during morning rush hour traffic. He had one of the radio station vans stop in the middle of the Bay Bridge so one of his crew could get a haircut (this was after that Clinton LAX/haircut fiasco). Tied up the commute for 3 hrs. I know the the radio station/DJ was fined and sued. I’m not sure of the details, but that’s a place to start.
Hartsfield Airport is one huge place. The guy could have gone anywhere in the airport and since he was running there would have been no way security could have found out where he went. Anyone who has been there knows that there is a high speed train between all concourses and the terminal as well as moving sidewalks to get to the councourses and the terminal. The guy was carrying a bag that had not cleared security, which is a breach of security. He could have been carrying a bomb for all anyone knew. Now, I have no idea how big a bomb it might take to do big damage to the airport, but I think in light of the circumstances the airport did what it thought best to protect everyone there. I was discussing this with co-workers earlier and one of them said that the national guard should have fired at him, which I don’t agree with because this is a usually very crowded airport.
If the guy had been so concerned about his son, why did he not bring his son with him to get the camera? What he did was leave his son with his (the son’s) uncle. This uncle was either the man’s brother or brother-in-law and I presume the man thought that uncle had enough sense to look after the boy or he wouldn’t have left the boy in his care.
The #%*#@ idiot knew full well what he was doing when he ran up that escalator. He knew he was bypassing security. As I recall, the story on CNN the day after stated that he went outside when the airport was evacuated and was caught when employees at the gate at Northwest Airlines recognized him from the security tape of him taking off up the escalator, when he went back to his gate to board his flight.
So he’s at the ticket gate and he has his camera, but he doesn’t think he can make it back to the gate in time. (Like Swampbear, I thought I remembered there were more than just him and his kid in his party) Let’s see. What are his options? I suppose it would be unthinkable to ask the ticket agent to call the gate and tell his party that he might miss the flight and either they could wait and take a later flight with him, or he would catch up with them at their destination. Let’s see - who exactly was it who left their camera there?
Might be really inconvenient to miss your flight, but when you screw up, who is the person most appropriate to bear the consequences?
Ignorant and selfish pretty much sum it up for me. I wish they make an example out of him. Don’t know why they won’t charge him with a crime, even if they don’t seek a substantial fine/sentence.
Like a guy cracking a joke about a bomb going through airport security who finds himself before a judge, you might think this is an over-reaction. But there is a time and a place for screwing around and ignoring or bending rules. And airports today ain’t it.
)