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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Professor: flight was delayed because my equations raised terror fears | Professor: flight was delayed because my equations raised terror fears |
| (about 21 hours later) | |
| American Airlines says woman expressed suspicion about University of Pennsylvania economics professor, who was solving a differential equation | |
| Guardian staff and agencies | |
| Sat 7 May 2016 18.19 BST | |
| Last modified on Fri 14 Jul 2017 20.27 BST | |
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| An economics professor says his flight was delayed because a fellow passenger thought the equations he was writing might be a sign he was a terrorist. | An economics professor says his flight was delayed because a fellow passenger thought the equations he was writing might be a sign he was a terrorist. |
| American Airlines confirmed on Saturday that a woman expressed suspicions about a University of Pennsylvania economics professor, Guido Menzio. She said she was too ill to take the Air Wisconsin-operated flight. | American Airlines confirmed on Saturday that a woman expressed suspicions about a University of Pennsylvania economics professor, Guido Menzio. She said she was too ill to take the Air Wisconsin-operated flight. |
| Menzio was flying from Philadelphia to Syracuse on Thursday to give a talk at Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada. He was solving a differential equation, but said he was told the woman thought he might be a terrorist because of what he was writing. | Menzio was flying from Philadelphia to Syracuse on Thursday to give a talk at Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada. He was solving a differential equation, but said he was told the woman thought he might be a terrorist because of what he was writing. |
| American spokesman Casey Norton said the crew followed protocol to take care of an ill passenger and then to investigate her allegations. They determined them to be non-credible, he said. | American spokesman Casey Norton said the crew followed protocol to take care of an ill passenger and then to investigate her allegations. They determined them to be non-credible, he said. |
| On Facebook, Menzio recounted the “unbelievable” experience in the present tense. “The passenger sitting next to me calls the stewardess, passes her a note.” | On Facebook, Menzio recounted the “unbelievable” experience in the present tense. “The passenger sitting next to me calls the stewardess, passes her a note.” |
| The plane, ready to take off, then returned to the gate and the passenger left. Menzio was then asked to disembark the plane and “met by some FBI looking man-in-black”. | The plane, ready to take off, then returned to the gate and the passenger left. Menzio was then asked to disembark the plane and “met by some FBI looking man-in-black”. |
| “They ask me about my neighbor,” he wrote. “I tell them I noticed nothing strange. They tell me she thought I was a terrorist because I was writing strange things on a pad of paper. I laugh. I bring them back to the plane. I showed them my math.” | “They ask me about my neighbor,” he wrote. “I tell them I noticed nothing strange. They tell me she thought I was a terrorist because I was writing strange things on a pad of paper. I laugh. I bring them back to the plane. I showed them my math.” |
| Menzio, who is Italian and has curly, dark hair, told the Associated Press he initially “thought they were trying to get clues about her illness.” | Menzio, who is Italian and has curly, dark hair, told the Associated Press he initially “thought they were trying to get clues about her illness.” |
| “Instead, they tell me that the woman was concerned that I was a terrorist because I was writing strage things on a pad of paper.” | “Instead, they tell me that the woman was concerned that I was a terrorist because I was writing strage things on a pad of paper.” |
| He told the Washington Post that he was “treated respectfully throughout” the process but remains perturbed by a system that “relies on the input of people who may be completely clueless”. | He told the Washington Post that he was “treated respectfully throughout” the process but remains perturbed by a system that “relies on the input of people who may be completely clueless”. |
| Passenger fears have prompted a series of problems on airplanes in recent weeks. Last month an Iraqi student who was overheard talking with his uncle in Arabic was removed from a Southwest Airlines flight after a fellow passenger reported him, prompting anger from civil rights groups. | Passenger fears have prompted a series of problems on airplanes in recent weeks. Last month an Iraqi student who was overheard talking with his uncle in Arabic was removed from a Southwest Airlines flight after a fellow passenger reported him, prompting anger from civil rights groups. |
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