Ummmmmm,
DownIn3Green - I think you'll find that
Allianceair was getting rather riled up because now the rumourmill is saying that it's the pilot that's the Arab American.
That's how I read it anyway - and of course if the captain was Arab American then that would tend to rule out any racism.
It would also explain why AA are being so supportive ... <img src="rolleyes.gif" border="0"> <img src="eek.gif" border="0"> <img src="rolleyes.gif" border="0">