Man yanked from plane released after FBI, TSA questioning

TAMPA -- A passenger aboard an AirTran flight bound for Atlanta was pulled from the aircraft this morning after talking about explosives and Pakistan, Tampa International Airport officials said.

Douglas Allen Most, 36 and a local tile setter, has since been released after being questioned by airport police, FBI agents and Transportation Security Administration officials, said Tad Hutcheson, AirTran's vice president of marketing.

The incident started before passengers boarded flight 120, when a man inside a men's bathroom overheard Most's conversation about current events, "including the war and the USF student case," according to a Tampa International news release.

The man who overheard the conversation's name was not released, but airport officials said he is the owner of a security consulting firm. He saw Most boarding his same flight and told a gate agent, who alerted the flight's captain.

Airport police and Transportation Security Administration officials removed Most, while the remaining passengers and their bags were re-screened, said airport spokeswoman Brenda Geoghagan. Nothing was found.

Most was cooperative while being questioned and was acting confused "about what is going on and his reported suspicious behavior," the release said.

Still, "the comfort level goes down when people get too specific about details about explosives," Geoghagan said.

The remaining 44 people on the flight - 39 passengers and 5 crew members - left for Atlanta. AirTran officials say the flight departed at 8:32 a.m., more than 1 1/2 hours after the flight's scheduled 7 a.m. takeoff.

Most was released at 9:40 a.m.  Airport officials say he was bound for San Diego, Calif.

Hutcheson, the AirTran spokesman, said the man who alerted gate agents did the right thing.

"You can't joke around with anything, any threat like that," he said. "There was an inconvenience, but you need to take all the precautions necessary."

-- Casey Cora, Times staff writer