Man attempts to open cabin door 30 minutes before landing

By Jake New

Authorities are investigating why a man attempted to open a door on an American Airlines flight bound for Indianapolis Wednesday.

According to an Indianapolis Airport Police Department report, passenger Abdulaziz Mubarak Alshammari of Saudi Arabia attempted to open the cabin door when the flight was about 30 minutes from landing in Indianapolis.

Witnesses told police that Alshammari walked to the front of the plane, looked around, then ran to the rear of the plane. He appeared to be looking for a door, passenger Rodney Bailey said in the report.

Alshammari returned to the front and began pulling on the cabin door.

The plane’s captain, James Kolostyak, said he saw the cabin door light come on and heard someone trying to open door. He called flight attendant Jorge Caraballo through the plane’s phone system while Bailey approached Alshammari, grabbed his arm and walked him back to his seat.

Bailey asked Alshammari if he was trying to find the bathroom. Alshammari shook his head no. Caraballo attempted to talk to the man, whose English he described as difficult to understand.

He appeared to be confused, Caraballo said, and did not seem to understand what was going on. Alshammari said he was a student at the University of Indianapolis, according to the report, though he doesn’t appear to be enrolled at the school.

The Indiana Intelligence Fusion Center and the Federal Bureau of Investigation Terrorist Screening Center ran Alshammari’s name through their systems and received no results. He is not wanted on any warrants and is not on any watch lists.

The flight itinerary showed that Alshammari was flying from Saudi Arabia to Qatar to New York City and then to Indianapolis, the report said.

A note Alshammari wrote on the plane was photocopied by police. No charges have currently been filed against him.

Read more here: http://www.idsnews.com/news/story.aspx?id=83306
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