This diary is intended as an aid to further reporting on the shooting of Rigoberto Alpizar by federal Air Marshals on 12/7/05. The shooting took place at Gate D42 at Miami International Airport on or about the jetway as Mr. Alpizar was exiting American Airlines Flight 492, bound for Orlando (see seating 757-200).
Public passenger statements:
1) John McAlhany - Seat 24C (21C?)
"I never heard the word 'bomb' on the plane,"
"[Alpizar] was in the back," McAlhany says, "a few seats from the back bathroom. He sat down." Then, McAlhany says, "I heard an argument with his wife. He was saying 'I have to get off the plane.' She said, 'Calm down.'"
Alpizar took off running down the aisle, with his wife close behind him. "She was running behind him saying, 'He's sick. He's sick. He's ill. He's got a disorder," McAlhany recalls. "I don't know if she said bipolar disorder [as one witness has alleged]. She was trying to explain to the marshals that he was ill. He just wanted to get off the plane." - Time Magazine
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