“Debunking the debunkers”

On December 3, 2009, a detailed investigative report describing the incident aboard AirTran Flight 297 was first published on this web site and Canada Free Press. The article was the product of an extensive and methodical two-week investigation conducted by this investigator and other investigative professionals as a result of a tip received from a passenger aboard that flight (unrelated to the infamous e-mail making the rounds). After receiving the tip from the passenger, this investigator received information from a law enforcement source with additional details of the incident. Through continued investigation, this investigator ultimately interviewed a total of seven-(7) well-vetted witnesses that formed the basis of our investigative report.

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Almost as soon as our report was published, we were inundated with rebuttals and accusations of racism, religious bigotry, and even completely fabricating or embellishing the incident. Many cited the e-mail written by Theodore Petruna, an individual who was never contacted by this investigator and whose claims we never addressed. Yet, a full court press of denials by the airline and some higher placed airline security officials were in full swing, pushing the account of this incident rapidly toward the trash heap of urban legend. The Atlanta Journal Constitution published an extensive rebuttal of the incident, including a carefully worded point-by-point rebuttal from an AirTran official of the e-mail written by Mr. Petruna. Once again, we received e-mails from people all over North America, citing that “ajc” article as proof that our investigative report was false. Nonetheless, we stood by our findings as we initially reported. Although many security professionals hosting web sites similar to ours began to openly question the veracity of our report, some actual journalists in the so-called mainstream media, however, were not as easily convinced. More...