ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, August 11, 1996 TAG: 9608120074
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: Associated Press
A librarian's sarcastic remark in an airport about a bomb as she fumed over misrouted luggage and a missed flight resulted in her arrest.
The FBI arrested Patsy Jane Hansel on a felony charge of giving false information about a bomb on an aircraft Wednesday at Richmond International Airport.
Hansel, 47, and her husband, James Govern, of Williamsburg, were flying to Seattle, but bad weather made it impossible to make their USAir connecting flight in Charlotte, N.C.
A ticket agent rerouted the couple to an American Airlines flight. Their luggage, however, remained aboard the USAir jet, said the woman's attorney, John Russell Jr. American Airlines refused to let the couple board without their luggage for security reasons, according to an affidavit filed by the FBI.
Hansel turned to her husband and remarked, ``This is the way we planned it. That we fly American, that our bags go on USAir, and that the bomb in our bags can blow up their airplane. Now do you understand?'' the affidavit by Special Agent Paul Messig said.
Govern did not respond to the remark, the affidavit said.
The American Airlines agent called airport police, who detained the couple and called the FBI.
A hearing is scheduled for Aug. 23 in U.S. District Court in Richmond. If convicted, Hansel could be sentenced to five years in prison.
``This is one of the biggest cases of overreaction you've ever seen,'' the attorney said. He said Hansel was being sarcastic and was explaining to her husband why they couldn't get on the American Airlines flight.
Russell said the couple eventually made it to Seattle. They could not be reached for comment.
Tim Smith, a spokesman for American Airlines at its Fort Worth, Texas, headquarters, said he was unaware of the Richmond incident. But he said agents are instructed not to make a judgment about whether such comments are serious.
If they hear the words, they make the call, Smith said. The policy was in effect well before President Clinton ordered tighter security at U.S. airports after TWA Flight 800 exploded on July 17.
``We, as an airline, and our employees do not take any comment - joking, sarcastic or otherwise - as anything but serious if it involves a bomb or weapon, or any kind of threat to an aircraft,'' Smith said. ``We are charged under federal law to treat every comment like that seriously and not make a judgment about it.''
Smith would not explain why passengers can't board without luggage.
USAir agents in Charlotte removed Hansel's and Govern's bags from that airline's plane when it landed and searched them. No explosives were found.
LENGTH: Medium: 58 linesby CNB