A US Airways pilot removed six Muslim scholars from a flight for safety reasons alone after a passenger reported they had cursed American involvement in Iraq, the airline says in a court document.

Captain John Wood “rationally and reasonably evaluated the information provided to him, and determined that denial of transportation was necessary to ensure the safety of the flight,” a motion for summary dismissal of the “flying imams” religious bias case argues.

The scholars, one of whom is blind and walks with a cane, claim there was nothing rational about what happened to them as they were on a plane awaiting departure from the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport. But their case hasn't attracted much sympathy, in part because they sued not only US Airways but also unidentified passengers who reported their “suspicious behavior.”

According to the airline, a passenger seated behind two of the imams passed a handwritten note to a flight attendant which stated:

6 suspicious Arabic men on plane, spaced out in their seats. All were together, saying “.....Allah......Allah,” cursing US involvement w/ Saddam before flight - 1 in front exit row, another in first row 1st class, another in 8D, another in 22D, two in 25 E&F.

Another flight attendant also noticed that Omar Shahin and Marwan Sadeddin had requested seatbelt extenders when only one of them seemed to need one and that Shahin, who was seated in first class, had twice walked back to the coach section to speak with his companions.

More information came from a customer service manager in Phoenix, who mistakenly told Captain Wood that three of the scholars were traveling on one-way tickets.

“The Captain’s decision [to remove the imams from the plane] was reasonable in light of the time constraints under which he was operating, the various independent reports he received regarding Plaintiffs’ behavior and travel arrangements, and the heightened security climate within which all airlines operate since 9/11,” the summary judgment motion says.

The brief also tries to explain why, even after FBI agents and Secret Service agents found no reason to detain the scholars, US Airways refused to let them travel home to Phoenix on another of its flights.

“[A]lthough US Airways personnel provided law enforcement with their contact information, no law enforcement personnel contacted US Airways at [the airport] or US Airways corporate headquarters to inform them that Plaintiffs had been cleared to travel,” it says.

Captain Wood's reaction still seems excessive. What was so dangerous about chanting “Allah,” asking for seatbelt extenders or moving through the cabin?

US Airways cites Al-Qudhai’een v. America West Airlines, 267 F. Supp. 2d 841 (2003), in which an airline was found immune from liability for removing two Saudi Arabian passengers from a plane. But the behavior of those passengers –- they failed to follow crew instructions, changed seats without permission, and walked up to the cockpit and pulled the door handle –- was more provocative than what the imams allegedly did.

By Matthew Heller
6/24/07