Northwest Flight 327 DHS IG Report Released

Via the Freedom of Information Act, POGO has obtained the Department of Homeland Security's full inspector general's report on the Northwest Flight 327 incident (pdf), though it is partially redacted.  13 Middle Eastern passengers aroused passenger, flight attendant and air marshal suspicions on that flight on June 29, 2004.  The Federal Air Marshal Service and FBI are criticized for deficiencies by the DHS IG, namely for: lacking in-flight communication capacity; having unclear roles and responsibilites within DHS; and not having a Memorandum of Understanding with the FBI regarding post-flight investigations.

A brief account of the suspicious event is as follows in the report's Executive Summary:

Thirteen Middle Eastern men, traveling together as a musical group, 12 carrying Syrian passports and one, a lawful permanent resident of the U.S., of Lebanese descent, purchased one-way tickets from Detroit to Los Angeles. Six of the men arrived at the gate together after boarding began, then split up and acted as if they were not acquainted. According to air marshals, the men also appeared sweaty and nervous. An air marshal assigned to Flight 327 observed their behavior and characterized it as "unusual," but made no further reports at the time.

During the flight, the men again acted suspiciously. Several of the men changed seats, congregated in the aisles, and arose when the fasten seat belt sign was turned on; one passenger moved quickly up the aisle toward the cockpit and, at the last moment, entered the first class lavatory. The passenger remained in the lavatory for about 20 minutes. Several of the men spent excessive time in the lavatories. Another man carried a large McDonald's restaurant bag into a lavatory and made a thumbs-up signal to another man upon returning to his seat.  Flight attendants notified the air marshals on board of the suspicious activities.
In response, an air marshal directed a flight attendant to instruct the cockpit to radio ahead for law- enforcement officials to meet the flight upon arrival.

After arriving, Flight 327 was met by Federal and local law enforcement officials, who gathered all 13 suspicious passengers, interviewing two of them. An air marshal photocopied the passengers' passports and visas. The names of the suspicious passengers were run through Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) databases, indicating the musical group's promoter (promoter) had been involved in a similar incident in January 2004. No other derogatory information was received, and all 13 of the men were released. Weeks after the flight landed in Los Angeles, following press reports of the suspicious incident, both the FBI and Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS) independently opened investigations into the activities that occurred on Flight 327.

-- Nick Schwellenbach

Comments

[Dr. Jerome D. Harold]

Following the coverage on this given yesterday by FOX News, concerning a new book on NWA Flt. 327, I'm wonering if you have any info on this subject ~ ~ anything new on this by POGO?

Dr. Jerome D. Harold
Merritt Island, FL

[Dave Power]

How can people feel safe when homeland security can say not to worry but turn around and make handicapped and old people go through hoops to fly? No Thanks I won,t fly.