Text 12713, 216 rader
Skriven 2006-08-27 22:57:04 av Rich Gauszka (1:379/45)
Ärende: The iPod of Terror
==========================
From: "Rich Gauszka" <gauszka@hotmail.com>

Terrorize an airline by accidentally dropping your iPod in the toilet

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=6a11bd67-f717-4aa3-80a9-
840c07949730&k=28503
A suspicious package found in an aircraft washroom on a flight from Chicago on
Tuesday afternoon brought out Ottawa police canine and bomb-disposal units.

A member of the crew found the package about 4 p.m.

The plane landed safely and was isolated away from the terminal.

Passengers were taken off the plane and questioned by police while experts
investigated the 'package.'

The airport was not closed during the three-hour incident.

Police issued a statement Tuesday evening saying the suspicious package 'has
been identified as an electronic devicde commonly known as an iPod.' "



http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=11211166&sid=1

It all started when I got out of my seat to go to the bathroom. I went to the
bathroom, washed my hands, and returned to my seat. A little while later the
two stewardesses on the flight crossed each other in the aisle. They had a
quick conversation that I was in earshot of.

"I locked off the front lav. There's something in the toilet that's preventing
it from flushing. Run some water and see if you can clear it." My face
immediately turned red. The seat cover! I thought. It must have been too big to
flush! I should have thrown it out!

I was so embarrassed. I tried to act normal ... I took a sudden interest in the
contents of the seat pocket in front of me, acted nonchalant and all. I watched
as the stewardess got on her hands and knees in the lavatory and did
unfathomable dirty work.

Sometime later, I decided it would be best if I forgot the whole thing
happened, so I went to put on my headphones and drown myself in iPod music. But
... no iPod. I panicked, checked my other pockets. Where was it? Not under the
seat, not in the pockets, not ... anywhere. I looked up to the stewardesses.
One of them had run past me in a decent clip. She was carrying a green
handbook. She brought it to the other stewardess. They flipped through the
handbook, read a page, then made a call. The other stewardess had retrieved a
blue metal box and was removing some equipment from it.

I put two and two together. I knew what had happened.

So I walked up to the stewardesses, both clamoring over the handbook, and
tapped one on the shoulder.

"So, I had an iPod before I went to the bathroom, and now I don't. I think I
know what's in the toilet."

We had a quick conversation. I told them, "You don't have to call the TSA or
anything, it's just my iPod." They said, "Oh, but we already did."

So now I'm starting to realize that this is turning into a big problem. They
offer their condolences, tell me that it's unfortunate, and I take a seat.
Okay. So far, not so bad. I return to my seat and spend the rest of the flight
trying to act normal.

That is, right up until the pilot comes over the intercom.

"Folks, this is the captain. I don't want to alarm you, but we've found a
suspicious device in the front lavatory. Now, we think it's probably nothing,
but in this day and age ... you can never be too careful. We'll be landing at
Ottawa, where we will await further instructions."

The cabin erupted with commotion. At that very moment, my face fell into my
hands. What have I done?

We landed at Ottawa, and we were taxiing to the gate. Without warning, the
airplane then lurched to a sudden halt.

"Folks, this is the captain. We've been ordered to make an immediate stop.
Buses are coming to evacuate the aircraft." We were to leave all of our
belongings on the aircraft; we would be shuttled by bus to the terminal, where
we would receive our carryon items.

My face fell deeper into my hands. Next came the waiting. Waiting and listening
to more worry and commotion. A lot of us wondered if we could bring cell
phones, wallets, passports, or customs forms with us. The stewardesses didn't
have any answers; they had never been through this before.

On the one hand, if I brought a cell phone, wallet, etc. etc., and they
confiscated it, I would have to hunt and peck for it separately from my carryon
luggage. But if I stuck all of that stuff in my carryon luggage, I would only
have to find one bag when we clamored for our stuff in the future. I decided
the smart thing to do was to stick everything in my carryon. But, I kept my
wallet, because I knew I was in big trouble at this point.

It took them 45 minutes to round up not just a bus and air-stairs, but an army
of police and customs vehicles. One of the stewardesses took me aside and
whispered to me. "Get off the plane last, and talk to the constable."

So I did. I exited the plane last, and spoke to the Ottawa police officer
waiting at the air-stairs. I told him that the device was my iPod, and he took
down my license number.

I continued to the bus. After a brief wait, it did NOT take us to the terminal.
It took us to some industrial facility, where they housed utility vehicles.
There, in the open garage, we were instructed to sit and wait. And wait we did
... another 30 minutes or so.

This was possibly the worst part ... While we were waiting I got to overhear
the passengers talking about me. Well, they didn't know it was me, but they
knew someone had dropped an iPod in the toilet, and they made aaallll sorts of
assumptions about this person.

"Why didn't he have it on a clip? He could have clipped it to his damn pants."
Or, "Why didn't he tell the stewardesses? Why is he hiding it from them and
making us go through this?"

I could have corrected them. I could have told them that it WAS on a clip and I
DID tell the stewardesses. In fact, it was a lot of self-restraint to just keep
my mouth shut and not make things worse.

By this time the sense of guilt had left me. This wasn't my fault. Anyone could
have dropped his stupid iPod in the toilet. It's really the government here. I
mean, at this point the building contained six customs officials, an army of
policemen, people from various security agencies, a bomb squad, and a couple of
detectives. No one was doing anything. No one was taking charge.
*I* didn't create this mess.

The whole time, the officers were watching me. They had told me to keep in
sight of them at all times.

Finally, five or six customs officers set up a table and made an announcement.
"We will be interviewing each of you one by one. Please form a line. Before we
have our chat, make sure you have your ID, passport, and customs information
with you."

One person asked, "What if that stuff is still on the plane?" The customs
official responded, "Then we will have a more formal chat."

I got in line with the rest of the people, but shortly thereafter two police
officers took me out of line. "Come with us."

They took me to a discreet corner. They brought out a tape recorder. I was told
to put my hands up on the wall and spread my legs, and I was frisked from head
to toe. They removed my wallet, disassembled it completely, and placed each of
its contents in its own plastic evidence bag.

"Now Tim, for the sake of the tape recorder, I want you to state your full name
and address." I did. "Now, each of us will state our name and position into the
tape recorder." There were two detectives from the police department, a
detective from Customs, and two members of the bomb squad.

Then started the questions. They were easy at first. They asked me where I
lived. What do I do for a living? Why am I unemployed? How come it's taken me 4
months to find a job?

They asked me why I was visiting Canada. I was to visit a friend I met on World
of Warcraft, Cara. They took down her name and what I could remember of her
address. They asked me how we met.

"In an online game."
"What online game?"
"Umm ... World of Warcraft," I responded meekly. "What kind of game is this?"
"It's a fantasy game ... it takes place online." "Fantasy ... like it's got
wizards and warlocks?" "Well, it's got warlocks." (And they need to be nerfed.)

They asked me to describe my relation to Cara. I told them that people meet up
in the game and go on adventures together, and that Cara and I were in a guild
together that I was the leader of. They confused the concept of a guild with
the game, however, and I had them believing that I was the Lord and Leader of
all of WoW until I was able to correct them, and explain to them what a guild
was.

So, when they put the pieces together; namely, that I was visiting a female
person that I had met over a computer game, their next line of questioning went
down an obvious path.

"So you and Cara are friends?"
"Yes."
"How long have you known her?"
"About 5 months I think? Maybe less." "Do you have a romantic relationship with
Cara?" "No."
"Do you want a romantic relationship with Cara?" "No."
"OK, so ... if you and Cara were drunk together, and she turned to you and
said, 'Tim, let's go--'"

I interrupted him. "Excuse me ... what's the point of these questions?" The
detective hardened. "Let me make things clear. I ask questions. You answer
them. Do we have an understanding?"

"Yes." I paused. "I just don't see how this is relevant."

He spoke right in my face. "I've got 5 good men going into that airplane right
now. Five of my best bomb squad guys. If there is any reason that I should be
concerned for their life, then I need to know now. So just answer the
questions, and do as I say."

Now the questions became really pointed. What do you think about 9/11? What are
your views on the Iran issue? Do you think government is too big, too powerful?
Would you ever "make a point?"

He asked me if I knew how to make a bomb. "I have a degree in physics, and I'm
not an idiot." Of course I knew how to make a bomb -- what kind of question is
that?? The better question is, WOULD I make a bomb? The answer is no.

They tried to trap me with some of their questions. I noticed they would try to
get me to contradict myself. Like, I had earlier mentioned that I had never met
Cara in real life, so they would later nonchalantly ask me when I had last seen
Cara. Stuff like that.

He told me there was a similar bomb scare in LA today. He asked me if I was
connected with it. He asked me if I was connected to the "liquid" thing from
Britain.

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