Tefillin Terrorist? Religious Jew Accidentally Sets Off Airplane Bomb Scare

By: Ryan Smith
Topics: Daily Blotter

(Personal Photo)

(AP PHOTO)

PHILADELPHIA (CBS/AP) A religious Jew wearing a series of black boxes and leather straps called tefillin or phylacteries inadvertently set off a bomb scare on a US Airways flight to Kentucky.

Photo: Example of man wearing tefillin.

The plane was diverted to Philadelphia.

A 17-year-old boy on Flight 3079 traveling from New York to Louisville was using tefillin boxes which are attached to the arm and forehead and contain prayer scrolls and have long leather straps which wrap around the arm, said Philadelphia police Lt. Frank Vanore.

"It's something that the average person is not going to see very often, if ever," FBI spokesman J.J. Klaver said.

Photo: Airways Express Flight 3079.

The teen explained the ritual after being questioned by crew members, but the captain decided to land in Philadelphia anyway, authorities said.

The flight left LaGuardia Airport in New York around 7:30 a.m. It landed without incident in Philadelphia about 90 minutes later and was met by police and officials from the FBI and Transportation Security Administration.

Authorities said the plane was searched and passengers were questioned. The teen, who is from White Plains, N.Y., and was traveling with his 16-year-old sister, was very cooperative, Vanore said.

"They were more alarmed than we were," Vanore said.

Klaver said the teen and his sister were never in custody, and have been cleared to continue their travels.

Passengers on 50-seat regional jet, which was operated by Chautauqua Airlines, were rebooked on other flights, US Airways spokesman Morgan Durrant said.

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by ghcrv January 22, 2010 2:32 PM EST: For detailed instructions and info regarding laying Tefilin / phylacteries go to:

www.chabad.org/102436; Reply to this comment


by dsondines January 22, 2010 8:25 AM EST: Sorry, but your flying in the usa and we should be watching everybody! When some dirtball does this now and says this is his faith and takes a plane down you will be saying, gee we should be checking everybody on the plane and keep your rituals at home where they belong!!! your on a plane and act like it. Many years ago we would dress nice to go on a plain, respect others as we would want. Again with all going on, strapping boxes to your body does alarm me. Cant tell me that they bend the rules with the orthodox rules!! They do and do often!! open your eyes..; Reply to this comment


by joblinc January 21, 2010 7:33 PM EST: The teen was very cooperative according to passengers and the police chief. The flight attendant and pilot made a stupid error in judgment causing panic and a colossal waste of resources. This was a NYC departure where Orthodox Jewish men commonly don their tefilin during their morning prayer. Our administration has contributed to this by fostering an atmosphere of hysteria and paranoia to compensate for their ineptitude on Christmas. Screening and profiling the real perpetrator population is now more important than ever.; Reply to this comment

by fleabag75 January 21, 2010 1:30 PM EST

,,,, and he found it necessary to do this on the plane why???????

Reply to this comment


by eDan008 January 21, 2010 4:24 PM EST: Why not? I'm sure he does this benign ritual every day, and had no idea the flight crew would react the way they did. If you want to blame someone or something, ignorance and xenophobia might be a good place to start.


by democracy1 January 21, 2010 8:19 PM EST: Because it is part of the requirements of his religion that it has to be done at a certain time of day. Airline personnel should be aware of these requirements, especially coming from White Plains, NY--not as if they could be entirely ignorant as to certain Orthodox Jewish rituals.

Also, since he was cooperative and explained the ritual to them, could they not go online and verify what he was explaining? Sheesh!