Yep, Scary Mary has been a lose cannon for years. She caused a pax evacuation at Columbus, Ohio in 1999 when trying to smuggle a "simulated bomb" for a local TV station. Most of us ordinary people would have served hard time for such a costly stunt. Of course, as a "journalist" she was untouchable and the incident never gets mentioned as she is quizzed about her expertise in airport security on CNN.
From <a href="http://www.avweb.com" target="_blank">www.avweb.com</a> :
Stupid
PR Tricks
Schiavo Surfaces...
Yes, gentle reader, Mary Schiavo's back. In what AVweb hopes is not a preview of stunts to come, the former DOT inspector general's name has surfaced in connection with an unattended piece of luggage found Friday at the Port Columbus (Ohio) airport. "Someone" checked a bag with her name on it but then didn't show for the flight. Security personnel shut down the America West concourse and a nearby runway for four hours while a thorough search -- including X-rays of the luggage -- was conducted. The X-ray process discovered what appeared to be bomb components but what was instead reported to have been a tape recorder, an alarm clock, a can of hairspray and wiring.
...And Is Named To ASI Board
Columbus, Ohio TV station WCMH said that Schiavo, who resigned her DOT post in 1996 after highly visible disagreements with the FAA over aviation safety, checked the bag as part of a story on airport security the station is doing. The sorry episode comes as airport security has taken major hits in recent weeks, including highly publicized problems at Miami International Airport, among others. In a related development, the Columbus-based Aviation Safety Institute announced last week that "Scary Mary" was elected to its board of directors. Since Congress has proclaimed 1999 the "Year of Aviation," can we expect more from Schiavo? Consider yourself warned.
Here's a CNN account quoting Reuters:
"If the intention was to impede my safety activism they have probably succeeded," Schiavo told Reuters in a telephone interview after learning of the investigation. "They have clipped my wings."
<a href="http://www.cnn.com/US/9903/15/suspicious.bag.01/" target="_blank">http://www.cnn.com/US/9903/15/suspicious.bag.01/</a>
Another view of this idiotic incident:
<a href="http://www.errtravel.com/archives/19990407.htm" target="_blank">http://www.errtravel.com/archives/19990407.htm</a>
[ 12 January 2002: Message edited by: Airbubba ]</p>