Air Marshal fires weapon onboard jet MIA Airport

[IdahoMom]

Okay, this is scary

I agree. I heard someone on TV today say that bags are not checked thoroughly enough for explosives.

I thought "Great. Now the terrorists know that, too!" :slap: I'm a very nervous traveller as it is! :chicken: :chicken: :chicken:

 

[Becba]

That's why his wife is there with him, I'm sorry to say. She kind of should help look out for him. She must've known he didn't take his pills. I have depression. My guy makes sure I take my pills every morning. If it weren't for him, I would be a wreck. Before him, I didn't even have enough energy to gte out of bed to take the pills myself. I don't depend on him necessarily but he helps me.

Anyway, back to him and her. I'm not blaming her, but that's why I wrote, with a question mark, this could've been prevented if he was taking his medication? Could it have been?

I was not arguing with with you. I think if he were on his meds this would not have happened. I just know the mentally ill often don't take their meds. They don't like the way it makes them feel. Or they forget.

 

[Details]

That'd be a great thing for someone to invent - a way to deliver anti-psychotic meds to a patient where they can't go off of them. There are too many people who are a danger if off the meds, and yet we have to let them out because they're OK on the meds.

 

[BillyGoatGruff]

Just because someone's crazy doesn't mean he doesn't have a bomb on him. (In fact, it might even make it more likely.) And being crazy doesn't mean you're stupid. This guy either Darwinned himself out of the gameor was planning uicide by cop all along.

 

[concernedperson]

Just because someone's crazy doesn't mean he doesn't have a bomb on him. (In fact, it might even make it more likely.) And being crazy doesn't mean you're stupid. This guy either Darwinned himself out of the gameor was planning uicide by cop all along.

I think that is what I was trying to post...albeit a little more politically correct. But we are on the same page. I am just not about excusing everyone because they don't take their meds.

 

[Toby]

Okay, this is scary

Quote:
After the shooting, investigators spread passengers' bags on the tarmac and let dogs sniff them for explosives, and bomb squad members blew up at least two bags.

I hate losing my luggage like this...

 

[Norma]

After the shooting, investigators spread passengers' bags on the tarmac and let dogs sniff them for explosives, and bomb squad members blew up at least two bags.

My mother just flew from Tampa to Michigan last week. She had one suitcase filled only with childrens clothes, and a wrapped gift that my sister had put in there for her Christmas gift. It was a paper shredder.

When my Mom got home and opened the bag, the gift had been ripped open. There was a small note that they had opened it for security reasons.

So Yes, I do believe that someone, somewhere, is checking the bags.



Also -
If your luggage is blown up, do you get reimbursed?

 

[Nore]

After 9/11 there is no more messing around. I am sorry this man was killed, and I feel terrible for his widow. The skies aren't so friendly anymore :snooty:

--------------------------
This is so true.Times have changed,no more fooling around.I watched Nancy Grace a woman on her show was from the Dept. that handles security.She said the Air Marshalls are taught to shoot to kill.Many lives were at stake in this situation.I worked with a woman who was BP,trust me you know when they are not functioning right! His wife never should have allowed him on the flight or should have alerted the airline as to his condition.At least the idiots al`quaida (sp) know we are not fooling around anymore!

Marthatex is right,in her "bad" moments Michelle always knew right from wrong but could not handle it.Psychos dont always know. The part that got me was their taking the "VooDoo" dogs aboard the plane,sniffing all the luggage on the ground.Made me think of Garagross not believing the dogs in the Laci case,hope he saw them!!

 

[Becba]

My mother just flew from Tampa to Michigan last week. She had one suitcase filled only with childrens clothes, and a wrapped gift that my sister had put in there for her Christmas gift. It was a paper shredder.

When my Mom got home and opened the bag, the gift had been ripped open. There was a small note that they had opened it for security reasons.

So Yes, I do believe that someone, somewhere, is checking the bags.



Also -
If your luggage is blown up, do you get reimbursed?

Lol. Just took hubby to the airport last week. When he checked his luggage an inspector was curious because it weighed 50lbs but showed nothing on the x ray. i heard him tell security to search him.
LOL. My hubby got held back for 15 min while the thoroughly searched him. When I got to speak with him I told him he needs to learn to pack light.

Oh they do check bags and are required to leave the tag that says they have done so. He has had his checked when he brought hard drives and such with him.

 

[PrayersForMaura]

I was not arguing with with you. I think if he were on his meds this would not have happened. I just know the mentally ill often don't take their meds. They don't like the way it makes them feel. Or they forget.

I totally agree with you... I forget a lot and I don't like to take my pills. That's why I am so thankful that I have someone who helps remind me why I take my pills and I do want to take them to get well.

It sucks taking them. I wish I didn't have to. I agree with you though. People forget to take them or don't want to. That is why they really need someone to support them. A spouse, nurse or family member is a good person to help/

 

[PlasmaFiend024]

I feel bad for the man that was killed.but it kind of puts my mind at ease knowing that when i fly.There are trained marshals onboard to deal with any kind of threat.Still an unfortunate situation that happened today.

 

[PrayersForMaura]

Passenger: Alpizar Was Agitated at Gate

MIAMI - The passenger shot to death by air marshals in Miami had been agitated before boarding the plane and was singing "Go Down Moses" as his wife tried to calm him, a fellow passenger said Thursday.
"The wife was telling him, 'Calm down. Let other people get on the plane. It will be all right,'" said Alan Tirpak. "I thought maybe he's afraid of flying," Tirpak said.

Tirpak took his seat, and Rigoberto Alpizar, 44, and his wife eventually boarded the plane. Then, a few minutes before the plane was to pull away, Alpizar bolted up the aisle and onto the jetway, where two air marshals confronted him.

Other passengers have said Alpizar's wife, Anne Buechner, said he was bipolar, a disorder also known as manic-depression.

Mike Beshears heard her say, "'My husband is sick. I've got to get my bags.'" Then the shots rang out, and a flight attendant stopped her and guided her to a seat, he said. "She was very apologetic," Beshears said of Alpizar's wife. "She was explaining to us as we sat there in the row. She felt it was her fault, that she had convinced him to get on board, that he wasn't ready."

More: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051209/ap_on_re_us/airplane_shooting_55;_ylt=AoZlZgBF.fjtqiXIzs556AnbdQQB;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl


AP Photo: This undated family photo shows Rigoberto Alpizar, left, and his wife, Anne Buechner. Alpizar,...

 

[KatherineQ]

People who fly with loved ones who are very likely to behave irrationally and violently need some kind of system to fly safely. The wife is right - she shouldn't have tried to quietly get him on that plane, because he was out of his mind. He is a full-grown, normal looking man who is insane. To try to get him on a plane like a functioning person, and avoid the embarrassment of having him act out by quietly cajoling him, was a very bad decision on her part.

In the future hopefully this will have a positive affect. People who fly with loved ones who are insane should have a method to do this more safely by alerting staff, during the ticketing process, that the passenger is mentally ill.

They could be flagged at the gate, their carry-on searched very thoroughly, and allowed to board without a horrific incident like this one.

Prayers for the wife, and kudos for her for realizing clearly what happened. Maybe she can serve as an advocate for the mentally ill on airplanes.

 

[concernedperson]

Or she can act responsibly for what happened. This is a two way street.If you know and don't act in the fashion and tell officials that someone is acting out of the norm and may require special needs then you are at fault. To blame a reaction in this world, especially on an airplane, is not a culpable situation for an air marshall. I would want them to save my life too.

 

[Details]

Not everyone can go everywhere. If you are so allergic to peanuts (or any other common substance) that a kid who brings a bag onboard will kill you - you shouldn't fly. If you aren't able to be responsible for your own actions on an airplane - you should only fly sedated.


It's nice to want everyone to have the same opportunities - but it just isn't reality.

 

[kato]

People who fly with loved ones who are very likely to behave irrationally and violently need some kind of system to fly safely. The wife is right - she shouldn't have tried to quietly get him on that plane, because he was out of his mind. He is a full-grown, normal looking man who is insane. To try to get him on a plane like a functioning person, and avoid the embarrassment of having him act out by quietly cajoling him, was a very bad decision on her part.

In the future hopefully this will have a positive affect. People who fly with loved ones who are insane should have a method to do this more safely by alerting staff, during the ticketing process, that the passenger is mentally ill.

They could be flagged at the gate, their carry-on searched very thoroughly, and allowed to board without a horrific incident like this one.

Prayers for the wife, and kudos for her for realizing clearly what happened. Maybe she can serve as an advocate for the mentally ill on airplanes.

Being Bi-Polar is not the same as being insane. There is a difference between mental illness and insanity.

 

[OneLostGrl]

Being Bi-Polar is not the same as being insane. There is a difference between mental illness and insanity.

Thank you for reminding others of that fact.

I have Bipolar Disorder and have made some pretty poor choices prior to being on the "proper" medications BUT..
Im mentally ill, not insane!

I have been on planes many times and never yelled out that I "have a bomb in my carry-on"!

 

[T'sNana]

I feel sorry for the Air Marshall(s) who were put in this situation even though that is a circumstance they can encounter in their job. It's a sad situation all around, but I feel they had to do it, from what I've seen and read.

 

[PrayersForMaura]

Village buries man shot dead in Miami CARIARI, Costa Rica (Reuters) - A man shot dead by air marshals in Miami airport last week was buried amid palm trees by tearful Costa Rican villagers on Tuesday as relatives demanded an investigation into his killing.
U.S. air marshals shot and killed Rigoberto Alpizar on December 7 as he boarded an American Airlines plane for Orlando, saying he had claimed to be carrying a bomb in his backpack.

Law enforcement officials later said there was no sign of a bomb and relatives of the Costa Rica-born naturalized U.S. citizen have demanded an explanation from the U.S. government.

Some 600 people packed a small green and white church in Alpizar's home town of Cariari, a village surrounded by banana plantations 70 miles east of the capital San Jose, to bury him amid tropical heat that gave way to a downpour.

Alpizar's wife Anne, a U.S. citizen, father Carlos and other members of his family sat in the front pews weeping during the Roman Catholic church service.

More: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051214/us_nm/security_costarica_funeral_dc;_ylt=AmI_U3X95pfY2f08hsv22eEWIr0F;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl

 

[Ticamom]

http://www.ticotimes.net/newsbriefs.htm


U.S.-Costa Rican Killed
by Federal Air Marshals
in Miami

By Leland Baxter-Neal
And Rebecca Kimitch
Tico Times Staff
[email protected]
[email protected]

COSTA Rican family members are mourning the death of Rigoberto Alpízar, who was shot at the Miami International Airport in the U.S. state of Florida Wednesday afternoon after allegedly threatening to have a bomb aboard an American Airlines plane.

U.S. air marshals shot and killed Alpízar, 44, near the plane door as he exited the aircraft clutching a backpack and repeating that he had to get off, witnesses told the press. Alpízar was born in Costa Rica but had lived in the United States for nearly two decades.

“When I received the news, I lost my breath. I felt like I was going to die,” Alpízar's father, Carlos Alpízar, told The Tico Times.

Shortly before the plane's scheduled takeoff, Rigoberto Alpízar ran up the aisle from his seat in the rear of the aircraft and claimed he had a bomb in his bag, according to Federal Air Marshal Service spokesman Dave Adams. Two air marshals confronted Alpízar, who continued to be “belligerent,” moving towards the officials and refusing to get down as ordered, Adams told The Tico Times. When Alpízar reached into his bag the two officers opened fire, killing him.

Despite the threat, subsequent inspection found no explosives in Alpízar's luggage. Witnesses told various media that his wife, also on board, chased him as he tried to exit, shouting that he was bipolar and had not taken his medication.

The victim was in Miami en route from Ecuador to Orlando, Florida, where he lived with his wife, a U.S. citizen named Anne Buechner, the Associated Press wire service reported. The couple had just transferred to American Airlines Flight 924, which originated in Colombia, for the final leg of their journey.

The couple had been in Peru and Ecuador on a volunteer medical mission where they were translating for Buechner's godfather, a dentist. A witness on their flight from Ecuador told the U.S. news channel CNN that Alpízar's behavior was erratic and flight attendants had problems communicating with him.

Bipolarity is a personality disorder characterized by wild swings between depression to euphoria, and requires regular treatment with prescription drugs, most commonly lithium.

According to Dr. Verónica Castro, a clinical psychologist at the Hospital Clínica Bíblica in San José, Alpízar's behavior could have been a manic episode of bipolar disorder.

“Abruptly stopping medication can have very negative consequences,” she said.

Castro said that in the euphoric, manic phase of the disorder, patients can lose contact with reality and act out high-risk behaviors that put their own life and others' at risk. In both the manic and depressive states, patients are also at high risk for suicide.


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