Wifi HotSpot Name Grounds Aircraft for Hours

The dumbassery, it burns. Someone on an airplane complained that there was a SSID, or a Wi-Fi name that appeared on their mobile device that mentioned AlQueda. So naturally, the plane sat for 8 hours on the tarmac. There was no crime committed.

From WTOP here:

A passenger aboard a plane at Los Angeles International Airport picked up a Wi-Fi hotspot named after a terrorist group, but authorities who held travelers for hours as they investigated say no crime was committed.

The passenger on the American Airlines flight from Los Angeles to London alerted crew members about the network Sunday night, and the plane returned to the gate.

KABC-TV reported Monday (http://tinyurl.com/qg4q297 ) that the hotspot was called “Al-Quida Free Terror Nettwork” and that passengers were kept onboard for several hours amid the investigation.

Los Angeles airport police said Monday that “no crime was committed and no further action will be taken.”

So if mischief-makers want to ground an entire airline fleet, get a bunch of people together and start broadcasting scary sounding SSIDs. Not only will flights screech to a halt, it will also embroil federal and local police departments.