Since the Nigerian with the exploding sizzling underpants there have been a number of false alarms causing planes to land short of their destinations for reasons which turned out to be complete crap.
Like being Nigerian and having a bad stomach.
But this one really takes the proverbial:
A US airways passenger plane was diverted to Philadelphia on Thursday after a religious item worn by a Jewish passenger was mistaken as a bomb, Philadelphia police said.
A passenger was alarmed by the phylacteries, religious items which observant Jews strap around their arms and heads as part of morning prayers, on the flight from New York’s La Guardia airport heading to Louisville.
Oh dear.
Now, I am a gentile Englishman who lives in Hong Kong. Even I know what they are! And we are not exactly talking about subterfuge here. These things are rather obvious to behold. Did it not occur to either the passenger or the crew that they would hardly have been smuggled past security while strapped to their bodies in plain view?
Do US Airways (or any other US airline for that matter) give its staff training about what to expect people who follow different paths to wear?
Another reason NOT to fly American carriers.
Chicken or beef?
This is further fuel for my personal belief that some people should be neutered for the good of the gene pool.