Man tries to light shoes on fire on United Flight

[MD Buckeye]

Qatari man subdued on Washington-Denver flight: report - Yahoo! News

Qatari man subdued on Washington-Denver flight: report

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? U.S. air marshals subdued a Qatari man who authorities say tried to "light his shoes on fire" on a United Airlines flight from Washington to Denver on Wednesday night, ABC News reported, citing federal law enforcement officials.

Media reports said the plane had landed safely at Denver International Airport and was surrounded by security vehicles.

 

[Buckeye513]

FBI: No Explosives Found on United Jet in Denver - ABC News

FBI agents say no explosives were found in the shoes of a Qatar diplomat who was subdued by federal air marshals on a United flight to Denver Wednesday night after allegedly telling the marshals, "I'm lighting my shoes on fire."

Authorities say the diplomat was wrestled to the ground and two F-16 fighter jets were dispatched to accompany the 757 on the final five minutes of its flight to Denver. Flight 663 originated from Washington Reagan airport.

A US security official said, "it may have been a massive misunderstanding" and the diplomat's statement may have been a "sarcastic" comment when he was confronted by two air marshals who had been told by flight attendants that smoke was coming from the lavatory

 

[gregorylee]

I guess he now knows that his sarcasm was ill placed...

There are some things folks just don't have a sense of humor about.

 

[Jake]

Was it sarcasm, or someone intentionally laying the grounds for another lawsuit?

 

[Mr_Burns]

They thought I was all like "I'M LIGHTING MY SHOES ON FIRE!!!1!11!!!1!"

but really I was just like [sarcasm]"I'm lighting my shoes on fire lol jk jk"[/sarcasm]

 

[BayBuck]

 

[fourteenandoh]

dude was smoking a cigarette!

In-Flight Smokes Entice Hundreds 20 Years Following U.S. Ban - Bloomberg.com