Woman Escorted Off US Airways Flight For Snapping Photo...

Source: www.pixiq.com...

A Miami photographer was escorted off a US Airways plane and deemed a “security risk” after she snapped a photo of an employee’s nametag at Philadelphia International Airport Friday.

Sandy DeWitt said the employee, whose name was Tonialla G., was being rude to several passengers in the boarding area of the flight to Miami.

So DeWitt snapped a photo of her nametag with her iPhone because she planned to complain about her in a letter to US Airways. But the photo didn’t come out because it was too dark.

However, once DeWitt was settled in her seat, preparing for take-off, Tonialla G. entered the plane and confronted her.

“She told me to delete the photo,” DeWitt said in an interview with Photography is Not a Crime Saturday morning.

DeWitt, who already had her phone turned off in preparation for take-off, turned the phone back on to show her that it didn’t come out, but deleted the photo anyway.

“I complied with her wishes but it’s not something I would normally do,” she said. “It just wasn’t usable.”

Although this isn't a TSA agent (at least it doesn;t say so in the article, I think she was just a U.S. Airways employee), it still shows the undeserved power that these airline people have. I think what this lady did was fine... She was going to complain, and just snapped a quick pic of the lady's nametag for later use when she wrote a letter to US airways. Anyways.. the fact that this lady boarded that plane an demanded that she delete the photograph from her iphone is ridiculous. IMO, the lady didnt want to get in trouble so she used the scapegoat excuse of being a 'security risk' .. And then the customer gets escorted off!! WTF! this is getting insane!

Remember,

'If you see something, say something'

Report your friends, family and neighbors if they are illegally selling lemonade on the corner, have a Ron Paul Bumper Sticker or express dissatisfaction in the current POTUS.

If you disagree with the ME agenda, you are a possible sympathizer and therefore might be a terrorist. If you question the TSA, you are a possible terrorist. If you question the loss of rights and freedoms, you are un-patriotic.

Please line up here and pay for a permit so that you may silently protest in a predesignated area of our choosing.

Oh, and a stewardess now has the skills, training and authority to label you as a security threat for using your camera. Why? Because she said so.

Please Stand By...

reply to post by jude11


haha agreed. What gives this lady the right to determine the security threat? To me the threat was that she was going to get a complaint against her and decided to use the security/terror excuse to ruin this lady's day. I mean, what was she supposed to do? I'm sure US Airways would like to know about any possible employee issue.. grrr makes me mad.

In a way, I suppose this is a better outcome than what the photographer had in mind. Public naming and shaming is good.

On the other hand, that's beside the point and it should never have come to this....

reply to post by Nspekta


My only question is what a Terrorist would do with a picture of a nametag? Seriously this is the stupidest thing I've heard come from the ailline industry in a few months. I'm sure it will be trumped by another more outragiously stupid incident in the future. It would appear the biggest idiots in society get hired by airlines and TSA.

Oh, and lets all remember the apologists favorite saying...

"If you aren't doing anything wrong, what do you have to worry about?"

THIS is what we have to worry about! Losers who abuse the power WE have given them.

Remember in the great US OF A some laws have been passed that taking photos of someone without their permission is a crime, unless said photo was taken in a public place where you right to reasonable privacy is void. An aircraft owned by a company is not considered a public place. I may be wrong about this law please correct me if I am. I remember reading about it somewhere. So much for land of the free.


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

Originally posted by Rockpuck
reply to post by Nspekta

 

My only question is what a Terrorist would do with a picture of a nametag? Seriously this is the stupidest thing I've heard come from the ailline industry in a few months. I'm sure it will be trumped by another more outragiously stupid incident in the future. It would appear the biggest idiots in society get hired by airlines and TSA.

Really?

Because this is one of the few rules that actually makes since to me. With an employee name badge, a terrorist could get behind the scenes cause all kinds of havoc for an airplane. Smuggle stuff on board that doesn't belong there, steal everyone's left sock, who knows?

Honestly, taking a direct picture of a name badge does sound like a thing that should raise alarms.

Found a little info here:

www.legalandrew.com...

That’s the general rule. When you’re on public property (a street, sidewalk, city park, etc) you can take pictures of what you see. This means that you can also photograph private property as long as you’re not trespassing to get the shot.

So you can take a pic of private property as long as you are not trespassing. Buying a ticket to enter the plane makes it not trespassing IMO.

But I'm not a lawyer.

This behavior by people in authority is all scripted, choreographed and planned.
The proletariat needs to know their place, don't rock the boat, pay your taxes and STFU.

The intimidation factor is huge in societal programming. Watch Nazi youtube mass gatherings and see the future of America. Only this time we will be controlled by a far right wing, religious fundamentalist, corporate oligarchy, that will be installed after the 2012 elections.

It's a brave new world, welcome to the monkey house.

Reply to post by jude11

Buying a ticket means your not trespassing, however it proves your not on public property and must abide by the rules of the owner.


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

reply to post by Djdoubt03


I buy tickets to enter national parks and monuments all the time. Are saying that national parks are not public places? I don't think buying a ticket is the thing that determines the difference between public/private...

As I read the article, the picture was not taken on the airplane, it was taken in the airport.

Reply to post by Montana

By buying tickets to national parks and such your agreeing to abide by their rules. Maybe the airline has a rule about not photographing its staff. I don't know just adding to the conversation.


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

Originally posted by Djdoubt03
Reply to post by Montana

 

By buying tickets to national parks and such your agreeing to abide by their rules. Maybe the airline has a rule about not photographing its staff. I don't know just adding to the conversation.

 

Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

 

A rule is a no-no at best.

To report it as a security threat is the issue.

reply to post by Nspekta


Devils advocate argument so read before going off on me -

While people have no expectation of privacy in puiblic, the inside of an aircraft is not a "public" area. This is evident by the authority the Captian has when in control of his aircraft. The aircraft is private property that is open to the public for use through purchasing a ticket.

If the lady who snapped the photos wanted to complain, thats her right, but the airline worker did not break any laws be asking the picture be deleted or by having the lady removed off the aircraft.

People seem to have an issue when it comes to understanding thier rights and how they work while on private property. Any person can walk into a mall and start snapping photos. Is it illegal? Nope. However, because the mall property is private that is open to the public, an individual does not have any absolute rights while on that property.

If mall security confronts a person who is snapping photos in the mall, they can ask the person to stop without any reasons (its private property). They can request the photos be deleted, and that request can technically be denied until any potential court action calls the photos into question, and I dont see it going that far). The person who took the pictures can be told to leave, and if they refuse they can be removed from property and potentially cited for tresspassing.

An airplane is the same setup, and aside from the pilot example I pointed out, its required under law to complay with all flight personell requests. Failure to do so can result in being charged with interfering with a flight crew (obviously there will be some specific criteria, but I point this out as an example).

The employees nametag was obviously visible not once, but twice to the lady who took the 2 pictures. She could have just as easily as wrote the name down. She also could have easily filed a complaint based off a description and the flight number since flight crews are small.

As far aws being removed from the plane, in this case they provided a reason, however, since its private property no reason is required for a company employee to ask / tell a person to leave.

Do I personally agree with what occured? Im split 50/50. While I understand the changing nature of our world because of camera cell phones, I think at times some people take it to far. Those people then try to scream they had their rights violated, while ignoring the circumstances surrounding their location at the time of the alleged violation.

Just my 2 cents.

Originally posted by Djdoubt03
Reply to post by jude11

 

Buying a ticket means your not trespassing, however it proves your not on public property and must abide by the rules of the owner.

 

Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

 

Agreed. So a reprimand or even not allowing them to continue on with their trip (extreme) could be warranted.

But to be treated as a security threat and most likely put on the Nation No-Fly list as a result (assumed because of the term Security Risk) is a ridiculous end.

reply to post by Xcathdra


Please re-read the article (or just read as the case may be). The picture was taken in the airport, not in the aircraft. So that brings us back to the old argument, is an airport public or private property.

Originally posted by Montana
reply to post by Xcathdra

 

Please re-read the article (or just read as the case may be). The picture was taken in the airport, not in the aircraft. So that brings us back to the old argument, is an airport public or private property.

I read the article.. The airlines lease the space where their planes park as well as the inside location where the gates are, so its the same in my post.

Dpending on the airport, its either private, city / county owned, state or federal or some combination of. However just because something is government owned does not automatically make the property a "public space" with no enforcement of laws allowed.

Its not against the law to take pictures inside of an airport, however it doesnt mean you wont be confronted / draw atention to yourself depending on what your taking a photo of. Soime airports have signs that dont allow photos, but those are vary rare and far and few inbetween.

She was not invovled in the initial encounter she found offensive, so sticking her nose in where it doesnt belong didnt really help. As I said before, she was not arrrested, and was escorted off the plane by employees, which they can do without any reasons. Instead of going quietly, she made an announcement to the people on the aircraft, which was irrelevant and a useless gesture.

I dunno.. I think the airline employee will get reprmianded if not fired simply because of the PR this has created, regardless of the fact she was within the bounds to have a person removed off an aircraft.

I would like to see both sides of the story, instead of just the journaliss side to see if anything is being left out or downplayed / overplayed.

As far as Private vs Public - I know from a local standpoint we cannot issue a tresspassing citation to homeless people who are sleeping on the grounds of City Hall. Aside from that, we can remove and cite people for doing the same thing at jails and other government buildings that contain functions outside of public interaction.

Airports are subject to loal / city / state law and FEderal law, depending on location and setup. I would say if the lady was in the airline leased area inside, then the airline is within their right to prohibit photos from being taken, same with removing people from the airplane.

reply to post by Xcathdra


I'm glad you read the article, thank you.

So now we can talk about the one picture (not two) that was taken in the airport (not on the plane) which is a public building (PIA is owned and operated entirely by the City of Philadelphia).

I agree that a passenger may be removed from an airplane by employees of the operating airline for cause.
However, if that cause is "I'm upset because I was being an abusive pig while on the job and now I am going to be held accountable for it" than said employee needs to be 'counseled' that that is not a 'security risk'.

Originally posted by Djdoubt03
Remember in the great US OF A some laws have been passed that taking photos of someone without their permission is a crime, unless said photo was taken in a public place where you right to reasonable privacy is void. An aircraft owned by a company is not considered a public place. I may be wrong about this law please correct me if I am. I remember reading about it somewhere. So much for land of the free.

 

Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

 

Photography is allowed on airports and TSA checkpoints etc. so that's a non-issue. Also picture of a nametag hardly is something that would invade someones privacy.

Originally posted by getreadyalready

Really?

Because this is one of the few rules that actually makes since to me. With an employee name badge, a terrorist could get behind the scenes cause all kinds of havoc for an airplane. Smuggle stuff on board that doesn't belong there, steal everyone's left sock, who knows?

Honestly, taking a direct picture of a name badge does sound like a thing that should raise alarms.

You think airport security is so bad that you can make a fake badge and run around an airport? So why are they kept out in the open then so they can be photographed? Since photography is allowed on airports and security checkpoints.