Woman's suitcase blown up after bomb comment

East Coast psychiatrist Esha Khoshnu, 46, apparently became frustrated with security screeners and allegedly said, "if i had a bomb you wouldn't find it." Airport personnel responded by detaining her for questioning, but her suitcase got past security and was loaded onto the jetliner. They removed the woman's suitcase and inspected it in an open area on the grounds of the airport, finding nothing suspicious. Taking no chances, they blew up the bag with an explosive charge and then doused it with water.

www.nctimes.com...

Remember to cautiously watch the use of sensitive words while boarding airliners folks, comments such as "I have a bomb and you can't find it." could land you in a world of trouble. But was the destruction of her personal luggage/items justifiable? You'd think a professional psychiatrist would be well aware of the repercussions following such use of powerful sarcastic comments. Does Esha deserve to be reimbursed?

Originally posted by syntaxer
Does Esha deserve to be reimbursed?

F-NO!

While I can sympathize with the frustrations, Comments like that weren’t even acceptable before 911.

Say something stupid in an airport, get your luggage blown up - I think that's fair.

I don't fly any more. I won't give them my money for the priviledge of being treated like a head of cattle on the way to the slaughter. I don't think anyone should.

If people rebelled against this sort of nonsense, the airlines would have no choice but to seek more subsidies from the government. If the people refused to pay their taxes, the airlines would have to become profitable again by giving in to the demands of their customers. A little dignity for starters..

We are told to be more afraid of terrorists than of politicians. All politicians lie, everybody knows that. Why believe them on this then?

Fear. Pure and simple. If people are afraid enough, they'll put up with any indignity for the promise of safety. There are always groups of people who refuse to give in, but they're simply labeled terrorists and criminalized. No more problem.

Originally posted by WyrdeOne
Say something stupid in an airport, get your luggage blown up - I think that's fair.

I don't fly any more. I won't give them my money for the priviledge of being treated like a head of cattle on the way to the slaughter. I don't think anyone should.

If people rebelled against this sort of nonsense, the airlines would have no choice but to seek more subsidies from the government. If the people refused to pay their taxes, the airlines would have to become profitable again by giving in to the demands of their customers. A little dignity for starters..

We are told to be more afraid of terrorists than of politicians. All politicians lie, everybody knows that. Why believe them on this then?

Fear. Pure and simple. If people are afraid enough, they'll put up with any indignity for the promise of safety. There are always groups of people who refuse to give in, but they're simply labeled terrorists and criminalized. No more problem.

Its hard to see your point here, but my feeling is your agaisnt extreme Airport security. Lets imagine, no matter how far fetched, that woman really DID have a bomb in her briefcase and they didnt go to those lengths to be sure. Would you make the same comments after 200 people died because of it?

Lets not forget what started all of this people: A few guys with razors. I think in todays day and age, if you want to fly you just need to accept any security measure the system see's fit. Its worth it.

Oy, this reminds me of what an uncle of mine did during the first gulf war. We were all loaded onto a plane, but there was a bomb threat called in, so the flight was severly delayed. Remember, this is before 9-11, but he was still an idiot. He found out from a flight attendant why we were being delayed, and got into an arguement with him. (After all, if you convince the flight attendant there's no threat, the plane can take off ) The only thing I heard was when he yelled out "Yeah, and I have plastiques!" Enter the cops. My dad got off with him, just to be a level headed participant in this (the uncle resisted arrest). So far as I remember, my uncle spent the night in jail and had to purchase another plane ticked to get home, as did my dad. As they should have.

No, she shouldn't be reimbursed, she was an idiot in what she said, especially in the world of terrorism and bombs we live in today. My dad was happy and understanding when he got his new ticket (the uncle, who is no longer part of the family due to divorce, was not), and that was before Osama Bin Laden was a household name here in America.

I Want To Think It's Wrong, But...

Well, I can't. I consider myself something of a civil libertarian and a proponent of minimal government, so I don't want to be seen condoning something abusive.

In a case like this, however, I really do think the punishment fits the crime -- far more than most punishments administered under law do.

So while I have some qualms, the bottom line is that -- based on what I have read here -- I personally think justice was done in this case.

Originally posted by Majic

-- I personally think justice was done in this case.

Maybe it was done in this CASE? Suitcase?

In my opinion whoever blew up her suitcase should have their asses handed to them for destroying someone else's property.

On the other hand they should have had her arrested there and then. With the suitcase sent to law enforcement, and not airline/national guard smucks who rarely know what the word explosive means anyway.

There's just situations in Western Society that you just Don't Do.

Shouting in Libraries
Counting your money in public
Telling your Superiors To Eff Themselves.
Telling your colleagues your salary
Telling the police you only had one beer
et. al...et. al....et. al....(okay I've broken two of these rules)

She deserved what she got. She was LUCKY with what she got, with the loosely-worded Patriot Act hanging over our heads these days. If she were a male with an olive complexion and dark hair, she'd be in prison for the next....say....two years or so?

Dot.

But was the destruction of her personal luggage/items justifiable?

Nope. But screw her anyway. Damned snotty jerk she is.

Yes, she was very lucky to get away with just having her suitcase destroyed. Saying ridiculous things like "If I had a bomb, you wouldn't find it" is just asking for a full body search from the people with rubber gloves. :shk:

Originally posted by dotgov101
There's just situations in Western Society that you just Don't Do.

Shouting in Libraries
Counting your money in public
Telling your Superiors To Eff Themselves.
Telling your colleagues your salary
Telling the police you only had one beer
et. al...et. al....et. al....(okay I've broken two of these rules)

I admit to being guilty of breaking rules 2 & 3 and I did verbally abuse a librarian for being offensive to KayEm when I was in the UK, but I didn't shout so that doesn't count

Finally i found a picture of Esha wondering over her ethnicity. Do you think if she was All-American white the outcome would have played itself out differently?



What really boggles my mind, Khoshnu is a Yale-educated psychiatrist who has special training in "crisis intervention." Wow, then in her case talk about the use of reverse psychology!

Here are some pictures of the event in full detail!

Before:


After:


17 Passengers safely evacuated and accounted for:


Authorities in Phoenix said Khoshnu is not going to be charged with a crime but that she may have to pay for the search and destruction of her own luggage, which could cost about $10,000. (doh!)

[edit on 21-2-2005 by syntaxer]

The reaction was perhaps justified considering the current state of affairs. Firstly it is in line with the "better to be safe than sorry" principle, AND it teaches people with a smart mouth to respect authority.

However the way they dealt with it was, IMO, a little overboard. No terrorist worth their salt is going to say anything like that. The woman was being a smart-ass and they knew it. They just wanted to teach her a lesson and make an example of her, and I'm sure they had some fun "playing firecrackers" too. If they really thought their was a bomb in there then they would have dealt with it by other means, such as remote-control probes, etc.

You can bet that the bomb-squad guys were laughing it up about exploding panties and such at the pub that night. The stupid thing is that no terrorist is ever going to say "You'll never find my bomb. Go on, see if you can find it. MWAHAHAHAHA!!~".

Prior to 9/11 (isn't amazing how one day has changed our methods of recanting memories??), I grew up either on a military base or within the confines of a federal installation.

Even then, ten, fifteen years ago, any abandoned bags were taken by the ordinance squadron and regarded as hazardous material (no pun intended).

When arriving in the UK as a pre-teen/child, my discman was literally taken apart by customs, and re-assembled for reasons unknown to me. I thought it was sort of neat how they were able to accomplish that under an hour.

Anyways...regardless of ethnicity...in These Times...any moron knows to not speak of hidden bombs. I say this not only from a legal standpoint, but from a moral standpoint as well.

1) The air transportation industry was used as a detonator for the largest and most prominent terrorist attack on American soil in recorded history.
***a) The airports are controlled and policed by The Federal Government.
***b) To make such a comment to personnel TRAINED to respond to such threats/cue words is flat out psychotic. Had the personnel not responded to her metaphor, it would have been a serious breach of security.
***c) All protocols following her outburst were dealt with quickly and professionally. We should be thankful of this.

2) Not much time has passed (from a historical standpoint) since 9/11. It is stamped in every American's memory age eight and up. From a moral and ethical point of view, speaking of that which is deemed unspeakable carries its consequences. I'm not trying to bolster a sense of Nazi-esque rhetoric about not talking about 9/11, rather I am comparing it to a small Holocaust. To make jokes, exhibit rude outbursts, and taunt personnel (some of whom were doing their jobs on that fateful day), is the equivalent to spitting on Ground Zero.

I hope she invested in Traveler's Cheques.

Dot.

About thirty years ago, my brother was coming back across the border from Juarez, Mexico. When he was asked to declare his citizenship, he let his liquor get the best of him and he said Latvia, or some such. He was immediately escorted into a small room where he was detained for a couple of hours while he explained his lack of passports and whatnot.

Don't mess around with authority, unless your willing to suffer the consequences.

Originally posted by syntaxer
Finally i found a picture of Esha wondering over her ethnicity. Do you think if she was All-American white the outcome would have played itself out differently?

I'm 6'2, blond hair, fair skin, blue eyes and everytime I have flown since 9/11, I have been singled out for the super-search. She got what she deserves, regardless.

[edit on 05/2/21 by GradyPhilpott]

An Ivy League-educated woman, a psychiatrist no less, makes an irresponsible statement at one of the most security-concious sites in the US. And we're asking if she should be reimbursed? If her color or gender had anything to do with it?

She should be made to reimburse the gov't for the cost of the search and the detonation devices. Maybe she'll learn a little patience.

I couldnt help but post after reading this. When I was younger ALOT younger I was traveling thru tulsa's international airport with my family and passed thru a metal detector with no one around it or in plain site and made the mistake of saying "anyone could sneak a bomb on board." A door I didnt even notice opened and we where detained. Needless to say I got my *** handed to me by my father. Now to the point, considering all the facts, she deserved what she got.

Thanks for the funny story of the day.

The woman is an idiot & should be charged appropriately.

She must have got under someones skin to get them to blow up her bag. That's way over the top considering they can x-ray & sniff the bag & see nothing is there. We don't need those kind of folks working at the airport either.

No she shouldn't get compensation & the person responsible for blowing up her bag should be fired.

1. she should be blown up too by this logic. she didnt even imply that she had a bomb, just said that "if i did have one you wouldnt find it." it might be on her person so they shoud destroy that too.

2. they might press charges? for what? she made no terroistic threat.

3. yes, she was wrong to say it. however, she is a psychiatrist. she understands that what she said was sarcasm. the poeple there did not, becasue they are 'just following orders". Being a ppsychiatrist she understands that a smart terrorist could easilly sneak a bomb onboard by playing by the rules and not acting out of character. it has already been done by the media!