Flight Diverted By "Threat" From U.S. Air Force Intelligence Specialist

www.washingtonpost.com...

A Delta Air Lines flight from Paris to Atlanta was diverted and landed in Maine on Tuesday after an agitated passenger told a flight attendant he had a bomb in his luggage, U.S. law enforcement officials said, citing preliminary reports.

The passenger -- identified by authorities as Derek Stansberry of Florida -- was restrained during the flight, and Delta Flight 273 from Paris Charles de Gaulle International Airport landed safely in Bangor shortly after 3:30 p.m.

FBI and TSA agents were interviewing the passengers. The plane, parked at a remote location away from the gate, was being swept by agents and dog teams for explosives. No explosives have been found, two law enforcement officials said.

The passenger was a U.S. citizen in his 20s, Caucasian, with no apparent criminal record, the officials said. He claimed to have a bomb and said he had a fake passport, according to initial reports.

www.myfoxtwincities.com...

A former U.S. Air Force intelligence specialist, whose behavior on board an Atlanta-bound plane caused it to be rerouted, was charged with two federal crimes, it emerged Wednesday.

Derek Stansberry was charged with interfering with a flight crew and threatening an explosive on an aircraft following allegations that he referred to a bomb in his luggage and a fake passport.

Stansberry was booked at 11:20 p.m. into Penobscot County Jail in Bangor, Maine, according to Tampa Bay's local Fox station WTVT .

Delta flight 273 from Paris to Atlanta made an emergency landing in Bangor on Tuesday and the 26-year-old Florida native was brought into custody by federal agents.

His father Richard told reporters he was shocked when he heard the news and was certain that his son, a former Air Force specialist now working as a civilian defense contractor, had been involved in a misunderstanding…

…Acquaintances of the former military man were “stunned” when they heard the news of his detainment, describing him as “a very quiet guy.”

Derek Stansberry had been in Paris on business and is said to enjoy his job as a private contractor. He has security clearance, a fact which some say indicates he would not have posed an active threat.

I'm not buying this. Something is very hinky about it. He supposedly claims his behavior is a result of a sleeping pill.

Nothing of my own volition, not even a sleepy grog, could cause me to tweak out like this while flying on a plane because I understand my in-flight responsibilities and the serious nature of airplane safety this days. And he is in the Air Force!? A trained "intelligence" specialist.

I checked out his Facebook page and, by all outward appearances, he seems completely normal.

So here we have this regular type of guy - whose friends all expressed absolute dismay about the incident - who happens to be a military trained...wait for it ..."contractor".

Could this be a case of mind control or a false flag type of incident? Could it be a cover story for something else that happened on board? A test of our air security? Or did a guy just lose it? There has got to be more to this story.

[edit on 28/4/2010 by kosmicjack]

I smell massive poodoo on this one. He very well could have been slipped something, given a post hypnotic suggestion, a fake passport....

The WP follow-up article:

www.washingtonpost.com...

"My son's profession in the military required he live a squeaky clean life," Richard Stansberry said.

In Washington, Air Force spokeswoman Lt. Col. Linda Pepin said the man detained on Flight 273 was a senior airman and worked as an intelligence specialist. She said he was on active duty from June 2005 to 2009 and was last stationed at Hurlburt Field, Fla.

Charde Houston, an all-star forward for the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx, was on the flight. She said she saw no clues on the handcuffed man's face as he was led off the plane on Tuesday.

"He looked extremely calm, like a blank face. No emotion," Houston said.

"...like a blank face. No emotion." - Classic trait of someone who is not in control of their own mind. IMO, if it was the sleeping pill, he would likely still be acting out, making apologetic excuses or at least be more animated.

www.masslive.com...

The father said his son served four years in the Air Force before leaving last year for a job in the private sector. He wouldn’t identify his son’s employer, but said the firm does work for the Air Force.

I found that very interesting as well as the fact that no flights were scrambled by NORAD. Supposedly the guy claimed to have explosives and yet jets weren't sent up to escort or whatever.

From personal experience... I would say that it isn't unlikely that he took a sleeping pill and wigged out. Ambien and the like have some strange side effects. Since he was in the military and a military contractor Im sure that he had on his mind that a terrorist could be on the plane. Hence, take a sleeping pill, dream or contemplate hijacking, drugged state makes you act out your fear. Maybe... Maybe not.

I agree with the Ambien defense especially if he mixed it with alcohol.
Wasn't there a congressman who took sleeping pills with alcohol and drove to the capital wearing no pants and got pulled over? He said he was late for a vote on a bill that didn't exist.

reply to post by axiomuser


It's true that sleeping pills can make you do funny things. There are all kinds of cautions related to using them, etc.

However, behavioral effects of sleeping pills don't just magically stop working when an Air Marshall detains you. Additionally, several articles indicate that he works 90 days "on" for the contractor and 45 days off. He has likely flown countless other times, all presumably without incident and maybe even took a sleeping pill.

What happened this time? What was different? Why can't his father say who his son works for?

reply to post by hangdiver


Like I said, sleeping pills do cause problems...and I'd like to read that ATS thread.

I know Stansberry pretty well. We were stationed together in Texas. He would never do this type of thing under normal circumstances. He took a sleeping pill and a valium and moooore than likely had a few beers.

After having a carpel tunnel surgery a long time ago, and while still under anesthesia, They told me I started shouting that aliens were coming to get me and that I threw the doctors accress the room like they were toothpicks... of course I remembered nothing at all when they asked me later...

Any drug that can supress the central nervous system can have side effects, where the subconscious takes over completely and acts out all kinds of dreamlike scenerios.. But you sure would think that things like what happened here would be very rare, if it is what really happened..




[edit on 28-4-2010 by UfoSpecial]

reply to post by zimnasty


Of course we'd love to know more background.

www.latimes.com...

FBI Special Agent James R. McCarty said in an affidavit that Stansberry, 26, of Riverview, Fla., had passed a somewhat incoherent note to a flight attendant:

"I am not an American citizen. I was in Ouaga illegally. My passports and identity are fake. I bought that bag on eBay and have no association with the United States. I will take whatever COA the US wants. I will leave my wallet & passport on this aircraft."

McCarty said the note ended: "Please let my family know the truth — I [screwed] up & will let the HN preside over prosecutions; and that I love them."

It was unclear what Stansberry meant by the acronyms.

Stansberry made rambling statements about holding "high level government clearances" for secret material, and said the bombs were to "divert attention from the fact that he had classified information," McCarty said.

The crew alerted four air marshals on the plane. At that point, McCarty said, Stansberry was moved to the rear of the aircraft, along with his boots, backpack and laptop. Blankets and pillows were braced around the items to serve as a makeshift "bunker … to dampen the effects of any potential explosion."

Authorities said it turned out there were no explosives in the laptop, although a minute trace of some chemical was "'preliminarily" found on the boots. They theorized it may have come from his work in Africa.

His father, Richard Stansberry of Apollo Beach, Fla., could not explain his son's alleged behavior. "Something did happen. But what caused it to happen, I have no clue," the father said in an interview.

He denied that his son was stressed from his Air Force service from 2005 to 2009, when he conducted mission briefings for flight operations over Iraq and Afghanistan. "He was kind of like a big brother in the sky" to pilots, the father said.

He speculated that his son might have been affected by taking an Ambien sedative for the long flight. The son told authorities he took one Ambien, then said he took eight, then said he also used Valium.

Agent McCarty said the younger Stansberry "was responsive to questions, but he spoke in military jargon and had trouble keeping the events in a chronological order."

*bold portions are my emphasis.*

Wow.

That sounds like more than just some sleeping pills, yes? Of course he is an American citizen but who knows what one might be convinced of under duress or hypnosis.

His pictures look somewhat different than his Facebook photos. Of course he's been on assignment for his military contract position but still, his eyes and expression seem pretty disassociated.

reply to post by kosmicjack


I seriously have to question the veracity of this story completely.

Why would this man claim a bomb in his baggage irregardless of sleeping pills?

They sure may make you act silly and or mentally out of it, but I do not see them making someone admit to a felony offense, and directly threatening the lives of others.

This story sounds like a bad hoax gone wrong by an idiot.

Or a seriously childish dare pushed on a moron by his college buddies.

The Situation Room: U.S.-bound flight diverted


[edit on 28-4-2010 by SpartanKingLeonidas]

Great great great thread!

Im actually nearing the end of an Intel class right now and this has peaked my interest Im wondering if he was a double agent and his cover was about to be blown and he started flipping out......if.....the "story" is legit. All this reading and researching Ive been doing for my class has me thinking in overdrive on this

I admit, I have not read everything yet - but im very intriqued! And will post any more thoughts I have after reading everything


[edit on April 28th 2010 by greeneyedleo]

Since he had clearance and was working for an unknown [intel ?] contractor - we may never know the details of this. I would bet most of the details will be considered classified because he was coming back from a "business" trip.

I heard he was carrying top secret information for our government on CNN.

He might have meant the information he had in his briefcase had to do with a bomb.

Foreknowledge of a nuclear device going off and helpless to stop it could cause a break in some less than sound people.

Just my 2¢ worth.

[edit on 28-4-2010 by skepticantiseptic]

reply to post by SpartanKingLeonidas


Agreed! I don't think they would necessarily make you act contrary to your character. Even if you were "dreaming" or whatever.


reply to post by greeneyedleo

Originally posted by greeneyedleo
Im wondering if he was a double agent and his cover was about to be blown and he started flipping out......

Me too! Totally.

I read a comment on one of the dozens of sites I've scanned today (in my near obsession with case! LoL!) that possibly he "freaked" in order to be taken into custody on purpose to keep his cover or something...and the Air Marshall broke cover as well...

My hink-o-meter is going off.


[edit on 28/4/2010 by kosmicjack]

blank stare on his face...just like the pentagon arrestee...emotionless

Thinking about this a bit more makes me wonder if some others used some secret mind altering devices on him because of how utterly bizzare he acted.. There are tons of people saying that DARPA has developed all kinds of "darkside" technology for such purposes..

So, we're not he only ones who are looking for more info:

cryptogon.com...

Shouldn't they already have information on him? Are they looking to scrub maybe?

[edit on 29/4/2010 by kosmicjack]

Originally posted by kosmicjack
So, we're not he only ones who are looking for more info:

cryptogon.com...

Shouldn't they already have information on him? Are they looking to scrub maybe?

[edit on 29/4/2010 by kosmicjack]

Yeah. Thats why Im thinking he had both hands in separate cookie jars, so to speak I am sure there is a task force right now looking into his "business" dealings and contacts in Africa were he just got back from.

Im wondering though if he is a nonofficial officer for whatever group he works for - that would mean that he "doesnt exist" for them and if he is detected or his cover blown - he gets no help basically.

However with that said, the searches could be coming from those who knew him and are looking for news stuff on him. Just regular colleagues/friends. It could be very innocent - but this is ATS were posting on - probably not so innocent


[edit on April 29th 2010 by greeneyedleo]