A WOMAN on a transatlantic flight from Heathrow that made an emergency diversion on Wednesday had managed to take several banned items including a screwdriver on board, according to US officials.
Catherine Mayo, 59, of Vermont, was also carrying several cigarette lighters. It was unclear whether she had taken them through security, which should have detected and removed them.
She made comments that the crew believed were references to al-Qaeda and the September 11 attacks. The captain of the United Airlines flight to Washington declared an emergency and diverted to Boston. The aircraft was escorted in by two F16 fighter jets.
Details of the apparent security lapse emerged as BAA claimed that all its airports would return to normal today. BAA admitted, however, that it was handling 35,000 fewer passengers a day than normal and said that many people had been deterred from flying by cancellations and delays.
US officials said that Ms Mayo, who was due to appear in court on a charge of interfering with a flight crew, appeared to have been suffering from claustrophobia. According to an FBI affidavit, attendants noticed her about 90 minutes into the flight because she was pushing against the bulkhead.
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When the attendant told her to return to her seat, Ms Mayo said she wanted to speak to an air marshal and made statements about knowing that people wanted to see what was in her bag.
As well as the screwdriver and lighters, she was carrying a bottle of water. Other reports suggested she has been carrying hand cream. Liquids and gels have been banned from carry-on luggage since last week.
She said that she had been in a country illegally, and later said she had photographs of Pakistan. “She stated that the photographs would be awful, and she indicated that they related to the people that she had been with in the mountains of Pakistan,” the affidavit said.
Her US passport indicated that on August 15 she had left Pakistan and entered Britain. As many as 17 people have been arrested in Pakistan in connection with the alleged plot, and many of the 23 suspects arrested in Britain are of Pakistani descent.
She spoke to the captain. “She made reference to being with people associated with two words. She stated that she could not say what the two words were because the last time that she had said the two words she had been kicked off of a flight in the United Arab Emirates,” the affidavit said.
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About 35 minutes later, when she tried to go to the bathroom, the flight attendants directed her to a different lavatory. Instead, she pulled down her underwear and urinated on the floor.
At that point, the captain ordered her to be restrained.
VIEW FROM THE COCKPIT
Pilots and cabin crews are turning to the internet to vent their frustration at “futile” security measures. Here are some postings from the Professional Pilots Rumour Network, www.pprune.org
“alibaba”, Monday, 12.30: “I had a discussion with security: ‘You have a fork in your bag. We will have to take that off you.’ Would the guard help me to decide if I should use the fork as a weapon against myself, or the axe that sits beside me in the flight deck?”
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“763 jock”, yesterday, 14.55: “A lady had several cases of shrinkwrapped Tropicana allowed through as it was presumably ‘stock’. She proceeded into the baggage hall where it could have been handed to an untrustworthy pilot like me.”
“A and C”, yesterday, 08.55: “The prohibition of lip balm is a real health issue to those of us who have to work in the very dry enviroment of a pressurised aircraft.”
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“Halfnut”, Tuesday, 15.27: “The US system is a sitting duck. Ban anything wet on the airplane. No water bottles. No hairspray. No deodorants . . . It’s a breakthrough on the war on terror: Counter ‘em with bad hygiene.”
DAVID ROSE