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Man Put On "No-Fly List" While In Air To NYC

Posted by samzenpus on from the beware-the-list-refresh dept.

An unnamed man flying from Nigeria to New York City found out he was added to a no-fly list somewhere above the Atlantic Ocean, when the plane stopped to refuel in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Officials won't say what he did or why he was added to the list after he had already boarded a flight. He was not immediately charged with a crime and Customs and Border Protection will only say that he is a "potential person of interest." From the article: "The man, a citizen of Gambia, was not on the no-fly list when he boarded the aircraft in Dakar, Senegal, said a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the issue publicly."

7 of 300 comments (clear)

  1. Quick Question by Monkeedude1212 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Do they still put Parachutes on airliners?

  2. No fly list is a dumb idea by surmak · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Perhaps this case is an exception, but I have always fest that the no-fly list is one of the dumbest ideas out there. In a criminal case (which terrorism and conspiracy are) you do not want to let the suspect know you are on to them until the cops come to arrest them. With the watch lists, all a sleeper has to do is take a commercial flight, and they will immediately know if they are on a watch list.

    Not to mention the civil liberties abuses that result when someone is denied the right to travel (by air) with due process, no notification, and no effective means of appeal.

    1. Re:No fly list is a dumb idea by dkleinsc · · Score: 5, Insightful

      That would be if your actual goal was to capture terrorists, convince them to talk, capture more terrorists, etc. If on the other hand your goal is to harass people who are a color or religion you don't like, then they're very very effective. And the best part is that through these petty annoyances you convince more of them that the US is in fact the great evil that should be wiped off the face of the earth, making sure that no matter how many bad guys you capture you're never going to be out of a job.

      --
      I am officially gone from /. Long live http://www.soylentnews.com/
  3. Just more evidence by XxtraLarGe · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The terrorists have already won.

    --
    Taking guns away from the 99% gives the 1% 100% of the power.
  4. The Gambia by penguinchris · · Score: 5, Informative

    This country is, funnily enough, actually called "The Gambia", not Gambia, and it's got a really funny shape that follows the course of the Gambia River. A pretty interesting place, actually.

  5. Re:And people wonder... by gyrogeerloose · · Score: 5, Interesting

    And people wonder why airline travel is down in the US. Or, to the US for that matter.

    I'll give you an example of why airline travel is down in the US:

    I flew from San Diego to San Francisco last weekend and got pulled aside because of some ham radio equipment (two small VHF hand-held transceivers) in my carry-on bag. I explained what they were while the TSA guy ripped everything out of my bag and ran it all through the X-ray machine again. Then I explained it all again to his supervisor. Took about a half hour but, "fortunately," my flight was delayed two hours so I was okay.

    Any other old greybeards out there remember when flying was fun? An adventure, rather than a big PITA only slightly better than traveling on a Greyhound bus?

    --
    This ain't rocket surgery.
  6. Re:And people wonder... by FrozenGeek · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Yeah, when I was a kid, flying was an adventure and a lot of fun. Now it's a PITA. It's been several years since I seriously considered a vacation that involved flying. I'd rather drive. If I have to fly to do it, odds are I'm not going to do it. If my attitude spreads, the airlines are in trouble.

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    linquendum tondere