bad timing???

Is this another "what is the world coming to" incident, or is it just a matter of bad timing.

A flight from London to Washington DC was diverted to Boston (escorted by fighter jets) overnight. Apparently a woman on board caused some sort of disturbance, it has been reported that she was claustrophobic and had some sort of panic attack. According the BBC a spokesperson from the Boston FBI said

"This isn't just an 'I want another drink kind of thing,' it was a disruption that caused them to divert the plane"

The news article also says that

Reports the woman was carrying a screwdriver and a note referring to al-Qaeda have been denied.

This is quite a specific claim - a screwdriver and a note from al-Qaeda, where did this claim come from??? Sounds very much like a bad case of Chinese whispers!!

I bet passengers cause disturbances on planes all the time - until now the only time it was reported in the media was when the culprit was a rock star.

Lets keep our fingers crossed this was just a bad case of nerves, by everyone involved.

Spare a thought for all those who work in the air every day, those charged with making our journey as comfortable as possible. It’s a trying time for airlines at the moment, threats of terrorism and high fuel costs are hurting the industry, I bet that means the salaries of cabin crew don’t reflect the increased risk (imagined or otherwise) of flying at this time.