United Airlines Flight 663 incident
Las Vegas International Airport, Las Vegas , Nevada, U.S. | |
Occupants | 163 |
---|---|
Passengers | 157 |
Crew | 6 |
Fatalities | 0 |
Injuries | 0 |
Survivors | 163 |
The United Airlines Flight 663 incident was a "minor
United no longer uses Flight 663 as a DCA-DEN-LAS route. As of April 2024, UA663 is now used on the Orlando-Denver route, flown by a variety of aircraft types.[2]
Incident
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/24/Wikinews-logo.svg/40px-Wikinews-logo.svg.png)
Flight 663 was a flight between
Officials identified the passenger as Mohammed al-Madadi, a diplomat from the Embassy of Qatar in Washington, D.C.[5][6] Officials took al-Madadi into custody, and the plane landed safely in Denver.[7]
The
Qatari Ambassador to the United States Ali Bin Fahad Al-Hajri issued a statement on the Embassy website:
Press reports today regarding an incident aboard a commercial flight from Washington, DC to Denver, CO indicate that a Qatari diplomat was detained for suspicious behavior. We respect the necessity of special security precautions involving air travel, but this diplomat was traveling to Denver on official Embassy business on my instructions, and he was certainly not engaged in any threatening activity. The facts will reveal that this was a mistake, and we urge all concerned parties to avoid reckless judgments or speculation.[12][13]
The Associated Press reported that al-Madadi was traveling on official Embassy business to visit
Felony charges would be applicable for non-diplomats.[17] U.S. officials said al-Madadi would not face criminal charges because of diplomatic immunity.[18] The suspect was released following interviews with law enforcement officials.[19] United States Department of State officials said al-Madadi was removed from the country by Qatar, rather than being declared persona non grata by the U.S. government and expelled from the United States.[20][21][22] Al-Madadi left the United States on April 9, 2010.[23] Qatar's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ahmed bin Abdullah Al Mahmood said that al-Madadi would be disciplined.[24][25]
Analysis and debate
The incident sparked international debate about how a matter of this nature should be handled.
In Qatar, the incident provoked criticism of the foreign ministry. An editorial by Ahmad Al Sulaiti in the daily Al-Watan called the event "embarrassing," adding, "While I do not intend to give lessons to the foreign ministry, I wish [Minister] Al Mahmood would tell me if our diplomats are properly groomed before they are sent to our embassies abroad and whether they acquire skills from our veteran ambassadors."[35] Al Mahmood replied that the incident was "an individual misjudgment that should not be over-generalised."[35]
References
- ^ Washington Post
- ^ "UA663 (UAL663) United Flight Tracking and History".
- ^ Denver Post
- ^ Staff report (April 8, 2010). 'Cigarette' behind US plane alert. Aljazeera
- Washington Post
- New York Times
- ^ Spillius, Alex (April 8, 2010). Qatari diplomat questioned after incident on US flight. The Telegraph
- New York Times
- ^ Pelofsky, Jeremy (April 8, 2010). Man in custody after disturbance on U.S. flight. Reuters
- Washington Post
- ^ Moreno, Ivan and Devlin Barrett (April 8, 2010). AP source: Man on flight trying to sneak smoke. Associated Press
- ^ Ali Bin Fahad Al-Hajri (April 7, 2010). Statement by Qatari Ambassador. Archived 2005-04-15 at the Wayback Machine via qatarembassy.net
- Sydney Morning Herald
- New York Times
- ^ Winter, Michael (April 8, 2010). AP: Qatari envoy in plane scare was going to visit jailed al-Qaeda agent. USA Today
- ^ Crabtree, Susan (April 8, 2010). Napolitano thanks air marshals for taking action on flight disrupted by diplomat. The Hill
- ^ Serrano, Richard, and Nicholas Riccardi (April 8, 2010). Qatari envoy subdued after smoke is detected on jetliner. Los Angeles Times
- ^ Moreno, Ivan, and Devlin Barrett (April 8, 2010). AP source: Man on flight will not be charged.[dead link] Associated Press
- New York Times
- ^ Salinger, Rick (April 8, 2010). Diplomat Traveled To See Imprisoned Al-Qaida Agent. KCNC-TV
- ^ Meikle, James (April 8, 2010). Qatari diplomat 'smoking' causes US plane scare. The Guardian
- ^ Lee, Matthew (April 8, 2010). Officials: Plane scare diplomat likely sent home. Associated Press
- ^ Associated Press (April 10, 2010). Diplomat from Qatar leaves US.[dead link]
- ^ White, Andrew (April 15, 2010). 'Shoe bomb' diplomat will be punished – minister. Arabian Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
- ^ Staff report (April 8, 2010). Qatari Diplomat Who Caused Security Scare Should Be Expelled, Critics Say. Fox News
- AOL News
- ^ Mayerowitz, Scott (April 8, 2010). The Idiots Who Cause Your Flight to Be Late. ABC News
- ^ Williams, Mary Elizabeth (April 10, 2010). This week in crazy: The smoking diplomat. Salon.com
- ^ Editorial staff (April 12, 2010). Flying idiot from Qatar. New York Post
- Bloomberg.com
- Wall Street Journal
- ^ Thomasson, Dan K. (April 12, 2010). Thomasson: Cost of overreaction is worth it. ScrippsNews
- ^ Lind, Michael (April 19, 2010). Hysteria that plays into the hands of bin Laden. Financial Times
- ^ a b Toumi, Habib (April 14, 2010). Qatar to take disciplinary action against 'erring' diplomat. Gulf News
External links
- TSA Statement on United Flight 663 via Transportation Security Administration
- Photo of Mohammed al-Madadi via Washington Life Magazine
- Video: Scare on a Flight to Denver via NBC News