Flight attendant mistakenly informs man of 'armed passengers' aboard plane
Former air marshal warns information could have been 'catastrophic' in the wrong hands
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A note identifying armed passengers on a flight from Chicago to Phoenix was mistakenly given to a customer.
William Stratton was seated and ready for the Frontier Airlines jet's take-off on Sunday when a steward approached him, Fox 10 reported.
“We were about to pull away from the gate, and the flight attendant said 'sir, here is the rest of your boarding pass, and handed me a white piece of paper',” he said.
He said the note, written on a cocktail napkin, had seat numbers 10F and 13F written on the top, and “other armed passengers” on the bottom.
"Well, I didn't really know what to think. I went up to her and said ma'am; this wasn't intended for me. And she just said 'oh god', and that was it," he explained.
The flight attendant had apparently mistaken Mr Stratton for an air marshal, and so informed him of the other armed passengers on board, as is procedure.
A former air marshal told Fox 10 the mistake could have proved “catastrophic” had the information been handed to someone with “bad intentions”.
A statement from Frontier Airlines said: "The note was handed to another customer instead of the person it was intended for after the customer changed seats on the plane."
But Mr Stratton said his boarding pass confirmed this wasn’t the case.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments