Hurricane Irene may have pre-empted last week’s Icarus Awards, but that only gave us an additional week to seek out the most outrageous travel failures. And what a week it’s been…
Snakes in the Pants
On Monday, August 25, TSA agents in Miami International Airport caught a man trying to board a plane with seven rare and questionably-venomous snakes and three tortoises stowed in his pants. Security scanners first identified the wild life, which was being transported inside the man’s pants in individual nylon bags. The Lacey Act forbids transporting exotic animals in such ways. The animals were all confiscated and the smuggler is now facing wildlife-trafficking charges. If convicted, he could be sentenced to a maximum of five years in prison.
Your Friends Are Not Da Bomb
A 30-year-old Miami woman was arrested this week for doodling on a friend’s suitcase. Danisa Landaeta drew a bomb and wrote “BOOM” on her friend’s luggage as a misguided joke. After her friend checked the bag into a Santa Barbara Airlines flight from Miami to Venezuela on Tuesday, authorities noticed the drawing and called in the bomb squad. Three concourses had to be evacuated from Miami International Airport and the driving areas around another concourse was shut down as bomb-sniffing dogs were brought in to investigate. Landaeta has confessed to planting a “hoax bomb” and “criminal mischief” and is now being held on a $12,500 bond.
A Pointed Problem
The FAA and local authorities are reviewing two incidents of laser pointers interfering with planes near Newark Liberty Airport. First a United Airlines flight reported seeing a laser pointed at the plane from 15 miles southwest of the airport. An hour later a corporate jet reported seeing a green laser 2.5 miles away from the Somerset, New Jersey airport. Both planes were able to land safely. The FAA, the Port Authority, the New Jersey state police and the FBI are all working together to track down the laser pointer users. Laser pointers can light up a cockpit and blind or disorient a pilot from miles away.
Long Walk, No Pants
Nude activist Stephen Gough has been sentenced to 657 days in a Scottish prison, just minutes after serving his last term. This is one of several prison sentences that Gough, also known as “the naked hiker” has served for public nudity. On principle, Gough refuses to wear any clothing and has been named the naked hiker for his famous unclothed trek from Land’s End to John O’Groats, which is the longest hike in the British Isles, going from the southwest to northeast ends with a distance of approximately 1,200 miles. Gough has spent the majority of the last 10 years in prison and will be behind bars for at least the next year and a half.
Down Under Blunder
Qantas is back as an Icarus nominee due to last week’s Twitter scandal. The airline ran a contest for fans to win two tickets to an international rugby match for demonstrating the most enthusiasm for Australia’s team. The winning pair dressed up as black Fiji native Radike Samon with a full costume that included black face paint.The Twitter-verse was naturally offended. Qantas removed the picture and issued a weak apology saying, “we understand it caused offense to some people.” When that was not enough appease the offended, Qantas finally tweeted out a more definitive apology, claiming, “We apologise that the photo of two Radike fans offended some of our followers.”
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By Lily J. Kosner for PeterGreenberg.com
Related Links:Gothamist, Gawker, Gadling, Huffington Post, Christian Science Monitor
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