The new year has started out with a bang. There was a hotel lockout that turned into a massive free-for-all, which was followed by a Tea Partier’s weapon transgression and much, much more. See this week’s nominees and vote in the first Icarus Award poll of the year.
Not So Ninja
Even the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) took to their blog to make fun of the passenger who was trying to conceal knives in a hallowed out copy of Ninja:The Shadow Warrior. On December 21, the ninja traveler was caught when his carry-on bag was X-rayed at Washington, D.C.’s Reagan National Airport. According to the the TSA’s Blogger Bill, the passenger forgot that he was carrying the weapons and he voluntarily surrendered his book to the TSA. Handing over your weapons…not so ninja.
Fight In the New Year
The Denver Tech Center Marriott rang in the new year with chaos when a computer security glitch locked all 628 guest rooms and shut down the elevators. Guests got sick the hallway outside their rooms and local news station KUSA TV reported that fights broke out between the guests. Police were called to the scene to maintain order and were able to prevent serious injury. All the guests have been compensated for their troubles.
New Year, New Heroin
It seems like Wilfer Bohorquez Rojo was planning a big New Year’s Eve bash. Rojo, a 53-year-old Miami resident, was arrested at Newark Liberty International Airport when Customs and Borders Protection found nearly $700,000 worth of smuggled heroin. The 25 pounds of heroin were hidden in four bottles of Chivas Royal Salute. Rojo now faces federal narcotics smuggling charges.
Misplaced Minors
Southwest ended 2011 with not one but two misplaced minor publicity disasters. First, 9-year-old Chloe Boyce was rerouted on a flight from Nashville to New York and was stuck alone for a 5-hour delay, at the time her family was not notified. Though Boyce will receive a special patch from her junior Girl Scout troop, her mother remains unhappy that she was not notified and was left frantically calling the airline. Then, mother Keena McBee is accusing the airline of negligence after her 15-year-old son Erik McBee, slept through his plane’s Tulsa stop and woke up in St. Louis, a flight for which he didn’t even have a ticket. The teen was stranded in the St. Louis area for almost 24 hours with no money and no cell phone. At that time his mother was frantically calling for information. Southwest has apologized to both parties and refunded the tickets.
Don’t Shoot Donnelly
On January 4, authorities at the Ontario International Airport detained California State Representative Tim Donnelly after he attempted to carry a loaded .45-caliber Colt Mark IV pistol onto an airplane. Donnelly, who is a gun rights advocate and the only Tea Party member in the state, has taken to carrying a loaded weapon after receiving death threats related to his proposal to reduce financial aid for illegal immigrants. Donnelly did not intend to be armed for the flight. Instead, he forgot the gun was in his briefcase which resulted in the unfortunate mistake. Police seized the firearm and detained but soon released Donnelly.
Pay up or Get Off the Plane won the 2011 Icarus Award. Check out more nominees in our Icarus Award section. Vote for this week’s worst offender in our poll.
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By Lily J. Kosner for PeterGreenberg.com
Related links: Daily Mail, Huffington Post, MSNBC, Los Angeles Times, Huffington Post
