Uncle Chô
01-15-2004, 12:17 PM
Remember "Maverick" in Top Gun explaining to "Charlie" how he was communicating, keeping up foreing relations with a "MIG-28" pilot ? :D
U.S. Pilot Held in Brazil in Fingerprinting Spat
Wed January 14, 2004 08:50 PM ET
By Todd Benson
SAO PAULO, Brazil (*******) - An American Airlines pilot was arrested at Sao Paulo International Airport on Wednesday after making an obscene gesture while being photographed by Brazilian immigration officers, police said.
The pilot, Dale Robin Hirsch, raised his middle finger at police while undergoing recently introduced Brazilian security measures that require U.S. citizens to be fingerprinted and photographed upon entering the South American country.
Local media said the 52-year-old pilot was fined 36,000 reais ($12,775) and released, but his passport was confiscated pending receipt of the payment. American Airlines had agreed to pay, they reported.
Brazil's decision to implement the policy on Jan. 1 in retaliation for a similar U.S. program to fingerprint and photograph visitors who need visas for the United States has soured relations between the two countries.
"He (Hirsch) behaved in a mocking manner toward federal police and made an internationally recognized obscene gesture while he was being photographed for identification," Sao Paulo State's federal police chief, Francisco Baltazar da Silva told reporters.
Ten crew members from the same American Airlines flight 907 from Miami were also denied entry to Brazil after refusing to cooperate with security officials. They were waiting in the airport for a return flight to the United States, police said.
American Airlines said it regretted the incident.
"The company apologizes to the Brazilian government, the airport authorities, the police, or anyone else who perceived anything they believed to have been disrespectful," the airline said in a statement. "The captain and other crew members certainly meant no disrespect."
AMERICANS SUFFER LONG LINES
The incident came a day after Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva appealed to President Bush to suspend visa requirements so the two countries could drop the fingerprint checks.
Brazilians are among the top groups of illegal immigrants detained in the United States
U.S. citizens have been subjected to long lines at Brazilian airports since the new security measures were implemented, prompting Secretary of State Colin Powell to complain that Americans were being discriminated against.
Eager to speed up the process, Brazil on Wednesday rushed to gather digital fingerprint readers from police stations across the country. Officials said they will be ready by Thursday to register U.S. visitors in "30 seconds" rather than the hours it takes with an inkpad.
With Rio de Janeiro's famous Carnival coming in February, the city is worried about the impact on tourism. It has taken to handing out roses and "Rio Loves You" T-shirts to U.S. visitors and on Wednesday laid on hip-wiggling Samba dancers at its airport arrival gate.
(Additional reporting by Andrew Hay in Brasilia, and Eduardo Simoes in Sao Paulo)
U.S. Pilot Held in Brazil in Fingerprinting Spat
Wed January 14, 2004 08:50 PM ET
By Todd Benson
SAO PAULO, Brazil (*******) - An American Airlines pilot was arrested at Sao Paulo International Airport on Wednesday after making an obscene gesture while being photographed by Brazilian immigration officers, police said.
The pilot, Dale Robin Hirsch, raised his middle finger at police while undergoing recently introduced Brazilian security measures that require U.S. citizens to be fingerprinted and photographed upon entering the South American country.
Local media said the 52-year-old pilot was fined 36,000 reais ($12,775) and released, but his passport was confiscated pending receipt of the payment. American Airlines had agreed to pay, they reported.
Brazil's decision to implement the policy on Jan. 1 in retaliation for a similar U.S. program to fingerprint and photograph visitors who need visas for the United States has soured relations between the two countries.
"He (Hirsch) behaved in a mocking manner toward federal police and made an internationally recognized obscene gesture while he was being photographed for identification," Sao Paulo State's federal police chief, Francisco Baltazar da Silva told reporters.
Ten crew members from the same American Airlines flight 907 from Miami were also denied entry to Brazil after refusing to cooperate with security officials. They were waiting in the airport for a return flight to the United States, police said.
American Airlines said it regretted the incident.
"The company apologizes to the Brazilian government, the airport authorities, the police, or anyone else who perceived anything they believed to have been disrespectful," the airline said in a statement. "The captain and other crew members certainly meant no disrespect."
AMERICANS SUFFER LONG LINES
The incident came a day after Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva appealed to President Bush to suspend visa requirements so the two countries could drop the fingerprint checks.
Brazilians are among the top groups of illegal immigrants detained in the United States
U.S. citizens have been subjected to long lines at Brazilian airports since the new security measures were implemented, prompting Secretary of State Colin Powell to complain that Americans were being discriminated against.
Eager to speed up the process, Brazil on Wednesday rushed to gather digital fingerprint readers from police stations across the country. Officials said they will be ready by Thursday to register U.S. visitors in "30 seconds" rather than the hours it takes with an inkpad.
With Rio de Janeiro's famous Carnival coming in February, the city is worried about the impact on tourism. It has taken to handing out roses and "Rio Loves You" T-shirts to U.S. visitors and on Wednesday laid on hip-wiggling Samba dancers at its airport arrival gate.
(Additional reporting by Andrew Hay in Brasilia, and Eduardo Simoes in Sao Paulo)