Several months ago reporter Annie Jacobsen wrote about her frightening flight from Detroit to Los Angeles.  According to her, several men, who looked to be of Middle Eastern background, behaved suspiciously;  moving about the plane as they checked it out and examining it much too carefully, remaining far too long in the bathroom  all the while studiously avoiding their perhaps countrymen.  Other passengers and flight attendants also noted this behavior, reassuring the author that the pilot and others were taking necessary preventive measures.  Police and other law enforcement personnel met the plane when it landed and detained the men.
 
Jacobsen's report and subsequent follow up articles investigating this situation created a controversial buzz about flight safety procedures brought to the forefront the possibility that terrorists were conducting dry runs or probes in preparation for future attacks involving aircraft.
 
Some think she has an overactive imagination; others have called her bigoted.  Meanwhile passengers and airline personanel, who have noticed suspicious behavior on other flights, have sought her out to report upsetting incidents they have witnessed. 
 
In her latest installment she reports on another suspicious flight from London to Washington.  So what do you think?
 
Ethel C. Fenig    10 20 04