| Home > Community thoughts > Could fear of flying be a part of the cause of the shooting on board AA 924 in Miami? |
| Could fear of flying be a part of the cause of the shooting on board AA 924 in Miami? | | Date Created: 10 Dec, 2005, 01:10 AM |
 A few days ago, US citizen Rigoberto Alpizar was shot and killed by federal marshals on board an American Airlines flight scheduled to fly from Miami to Orlando, near where he lived.
Various reports have had it that he mentioned the word "bomb" while rushing from the aircraft into the jetway before departure, and he then refused to stay on the ground when "requested" by marshals who apprehended him.
Reports have also had it that he suffered a bipolar disorder, was not on his medication that day, and that he rushed from the plane, causing the alarm bells to go off for marshals on board.
Media reports have offered interviews with neighbours and friends of the dead man suggesting his on-board behaviour was quite alien to his usual presentation.
I am going to stick my neck out here, and bring some focus to the possibility this man suffered a fear of flying, and possibly without his medication, his anxiety broke free of his control and he attempted to deplane in such a rushed, frightening fashion that the marshals "doing their job" determined that his behaviour bore sufficient resemblance to that observed during their training, that they went into "terrorist on board" mode: shoot to kill.
I have no further information other than what has been reported in the public domain so ethically it is only possible to offer hypothesis which might be wise for authorities to investigate in an effort to engage in aviation risk management.
Reports early in the media that the victim used the word "bomb" have since been dropped, and I am also guessing that the word may well have been used by passengers witnessing the events or the marshals themselves, and like the famous telephone party trick, it got distorted by the time the media picked up on it.
Nowadays, flying is a very stressful event for many people. It may not be frightening, as it is for the people who consult me, but commercial airline travel is not without its stressors, and often it takes people from or to difficult circumstances. Thus flying can become associated with apprehension and dread.
In time, a fuller picture of the victim of the shooting will become apparent. Right now, some fearful flyers for whom terrorism has now appeared on their radar, might seek solace that air marshals are around to protect them.
From my perspective, I am unsure about this.
My experience of how the media report such matters is not a positive one. I have a very uncomfortable intuit that the victim was fearful, and possibly unmedicated, and seized an opportunity to avoid any further elevation of his tension by escaping the plane.
That he did so in such a way as to trigger perhaps almost reflexive actions on the part of the marshals is a part of what I suspect is a tragic story. I am also in wonderment that his wife who rushed off the plane after him, from media accounts, was also not shot.
And finally, if my intuit that this may be a fear of flying story, it behooves the airline industry to once more consider re-introducing fear of flying programs, run by professionals who know what they're doing, and inclusive or airline staff who can explain to flyers how their airline operates.
A rather disconcerting report suggestive of marshals acting perhaps too reflexively, and a mindset trying to support a bomb on board theory can be found here on the War and Piece blog. |
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