The Joke Really Is On Us...

...at least it was on us today. Once again Dumb Luck, or was it his sister Fickle Fate, came to play in the lives of the crew and passengers of the exact same flight, Northwest Airlines flight 253, that was almost blown up on Christmas day two days ago. In an amazing set of coincidences, while aboard Northwest flight 253 from Nigeria to Detroit via Amsterdam, a Nigerian man was observed to be getting up several times and going to the rest room, and at least once locking himself inside the rest room and refusing to come out. This evidently got the passengers and crew on edge after Friday's near catastrophe on the same fight. So, the flight crew radioed ahead for assistance worried that this man was another terrorist.

As it turned out, it is all laughable, very laughable, even though no one was intentionally joking. You see, the man had quite the legitimate reason to be inside of the restroom, and all the reason in the world not to come out when asked to do so by the flight crew. He had a case of the squirts, a la food poisoning. Of course, maybe the joke has yet to be played. You see, it has been reported that this man was arrested upon arrival in Detroit. Can you imagine that - being arrested for having a case of the shits squirts! I think the joke may be coming in the form of a lawsuit but not many will be laughing. Hopefully this guy has a sense of humor and a sense of honor and a good amount of understanding and can laugh off the whole thing in light of how scared others on the flight must have been because of what happened only two days ago under amazingly coincidental circumstances.

Of course the plane was searched, the suspect was interviewed and on and on with the determination being made that he had been ill. Me being the cynical type though has to wonder if the authorities actually checked the blue water to see if any contraband had been passed. I seriously doubt they did so, but it may have been worth the search. The guy could well have been ill, or maybe he could have been passing heroin filled condoms. Did anyone at CBP think of having him x-rayed?

Sources: 1010 WINS radio broadcasts and 880 WCBS AM radio broadcast on 12/29/2009, and http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,581232,00.html.

All the best,
Glenn B