Military

DATE=9/28/01

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=LA/AIR INCIDENT (L-ONLY)

NUMBER=2-281144

BYLINE=MIKE O'SULLIVAN

DATELINE=LOS ANGELES

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: Safety concerns are prompting measures for improved security in aircraft and at airports and airlines are taking airborne disturbances seriously. Mike O'Sullivan reports that authorities in Los Angeles have charged a man with interfering with a flight crew.

TEXT: Authorities say Javid Naghani made an anti-American threat after he was caught smoking in a lavatory on an Air Canada flight from Los Angeles to Toronto. The incident occurred shortly after the plane took off on Thursday. The pilot returned to Los Angeles International Airport, escorted by two Air Force jet fighters.

After the passenger jet landed, agents with their guns drawn took the man into custody. A passenger describes the confrontation.

/// PASSENGER ACT ///

It took them a while to get him off the plane, although he wasn't struggling. He was just kind of arguing.

/// END ACT ///

Mr. Naghani is an Iranian national who lives in Los Angeles. A neighbor says he is a chain-smoker who sometimes drinks too much. The neighbor says the man is good-natured but loud, and is known in the neighborhood as "Crazy Charlie."

Authorities also took the man's wife into custody, but later released her. She denied that her husband had made any threats. Another passenger said he only heard the man threaten to sue the airline. Federal officials, however, say he told flight attendants he wants to "kill all Americans."

Airline officials say they are taking all airborne incidents seriously.

Meanwhile, proposals for improving airline safety are coming from many directions. President Bush has asked that the National Guard, composed of part-time citizen soldiers, be mobilized for security work at major U-S airports. Mr. Bush has also called for expansion of the federal air marshal program, which places armed officers on commercial flights. The President is also calling for a $500 million dollar fund to fortify aircraft cockpits against intruders.

Los Angeles police officers have offered their own suggestion for increasing airline security. Mitzi Grasso heads the Los Angeles police officers' union, and says off-duty officers should be allowed to carry their guns when traveling on airplanes.

/// GRASSO ACT ///

If officers were able to take their weapons while traveling, it just adds another element of protection for the airlines.

/// END ACT ///

Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn, the newly appointed chairman of the air-safety task force for the U-S Conference of Mayors, says the proposal is worth considering. But he says federal, not local, officials determine safety regulations for U-S airlines. (Signed)

NEB/MO/MAR