Airline says bias wasn't factor in canceled flight

DETROIT - A lawyer for American Airlines said Friday it was the suspicious behavior of five men of Iraqi descent, not discrimination, that caused the pilot of a Chicago-bound flight to return to the gate in August 2007.

Attorney Michael McQuillen asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the Detroit-area men, who claim their nationality caused Capt. John Plummer to ground Flight 590 before takeoff in San Diego.

There was "no evidence that Capt. Plummer had any bias against people of Arabic descent," McQuillen told U.S. District Judge Paul Borman.

The men were leaving San Diego after training U.S. Marines about Iraqi culture when flight attendants and passengers became concerned by behavior that included one of the men putting a blanket over his head and glaring at a crew member during safety instructions.

Another man said he was traveling alone and was not part of the group.

Plummer, who described the behavior as "odd," returned the plane to the gate, where police interviewed the men. Everyone, including the Iraqi natives, departed San Diego the next day on another flight.

Lawrence Garcia, lawyer for the five men, said his clients "wanted to be treated like everyone else on the plane, but they certainly were not."

"One took off his shoes. One went to the bathroom, and one put a blanket on his head. ... If a white or African-American person had done that on a plane, it would have aroused no suspicion," Garcia said.

But McQuillen repeatedly told the judge that the pilot's decision to abort the flight was not "arbitrary or capricious," a key legal standard to holding the airline liable.

He said Plummer did not return to the gate until after a third call to the cockpit by flight attendants.

Plummer had a "legitimate concern for safety," McQuillen said. "No one was arrested. No one was touched. ... I don't believe he made a mistake, but mistakes are even protected under the statute."

Borman did not issue a ruling Friday.

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