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THE BATTALION
College Station, Texas Wednesday, March 8, 1972
CADET SLOUCH
by Jim Earle
No passengers inside
TWA airliner explodes on ground
“I’m all for selecting our instructors when we register
for a course, if we can keep the instructors from selecting
their students!”
By LEE GOULD
LAS VEGAS, Nev. (A 1 )—Despite
two searches and the presence
of armed guards, a bomb exploded
inside an unoccupied Trans World
Airlines Boeing 707 jetliner here
today. It apparently was part of
an extortion scheme which has
triggered a worldwide bomb
threat against TWA jetliners,
authorities said.
The bomb, planted in or near
the cockpit, exploded at 3:55 a.m.,
about seven hours after the plane
arrived nonstop from New York
with 10 passengers and a seven-
member crew. It ripped a huge
hole in the front fuselage, hurl
ing debris for 100 feet at Mc-
Carran International Airport.
Law officers and TWA officials
said they felt the bomb was one
of those a mysterious extortionist
has said he planted on TWA jet
liners in order to get $2 million
in ransom from the airline.
Trained dogs sniffed out a
bomb Tuesday in a cockpit of a
TWA jetliner en route from New
York to Los Angeles after the
plane returned to New York. No
other bombs have been reported
found.
No one had any idea how the
bomb got aboard the plane here.
It had been searched from nose
to tail before leaving New York
and upon landing in Las Vegas,
said Charles Wyre, TWA general
manager in Las Vegas.
In addition, two deputies guard
ed the four-engine 707 and three
other TWA jetliners, of which
were parked together in a loading
area about 300 yards from the
main terminal. The other planes
were not damaged by the blast.
One deputy was inspecting the
plane from the outside when the
bomb exploded and he said, “It
sounded like dynamite.”
Wyre said some TWA work
men had been in the plane to
clean it but discounted any specu
lation one of the men or an im
poster planted the bomb.
“They all knew each other and
work together and they wear
identification badges,” he said.
FBI and sheriff’s department
investigators refused to talk
about the bomb. But Wyre said,
“We don’t know exactly where
the bomb was but it appeared
to have been in the back of the
cockpit or close behind the cock
pit.”
There are two restrooms be
hind the cockpit on the righthand
side, the same side of the ex
plosion. Wyre said the door to
the cockpit apparently was un
locked after landing.
The deputy who witnessed the
blast, Lanis Mills, said: “It sound
ed like dynamite. I could see
pieces of the plane flying through
the air. There was a small fire
inside the plane but it burned
itself out within a minute or so.”
A TWA spokesman said the
$7-million plane would be re
paired at a cost of “several mil
lion dollars.”
After the blast the three other
TWA jetliners were checked
again. A trained dog that can
smell out explosives was used.
It wasn’t used in the earlier
search. Nothing turned up.
Air traffic to McCaiTan was
not halted by the explosion, but
the airport was sealed off for 90
minutes from the public.
The TWA 707 was scheduled
to leave the Las Vegas airport at
7:45 a.m. bound for Kansas City,
St. Louis, Cleveland, New York
and then London.
TWA made the worldwide bomb
search of its jet fleet after re
ceiving the mysterious ransom
demand.
Half a dozen planes made un
scheduled landings for searches
after the discovery of the pow
erful plastic explosive Tuesday
and scores of travelers canceled
reservations. Delays of two hours
or more were reported in flights.
An anonymous telephone call
er had warned of the bomb and
directed officials to an airport
locker where they found a note
declaring that four TWA planes
would be blown up at six-hour
intervals unless the ransom was
paid. But the succeeding deadlines
passed without incident.
A TWA spokesman said the
money was assembled but there
was no further word from the
FBI, TWA or local authorities on
negotiations with the extortionist
or whether any money had been
paid.
“The guy who did this knows
what he’s doing,” commented De
tective William F. Schmitt of the
police bomb section, who defused
the device at Kennedy 12 min
utes before it was set to detonate
at 1 p.m.
The bomb consisted of 6 to 6
pounds of the plastic C4, aj
putty-like military exploi
“would have blown the i
apart,” Schmitt said,
The plane had arrived atj
nedy shortly after midnightf
day on a flight from Lojj
geles and remained until i(J
off with 45 passengers and a
of seven for a nonstop mnj
to California.
The warning call came toj
headquarters at 11:30 a.m.a
the time it had been as:
a bona fide threat the plantj
in the air and 100 miles i
Kennedy.
Telling the passengersonlyl
there was mechanical trouble,!
pilot, Capt. William Motz.baiJ
sharply and headed back.
Bulletin Board
Tonight
Sophomore Council will meet
at 8 on the steps of the Engi
neering Center. Aggieland photo
will be made.
Thursday
Aggie Cinema will meet in
room 3A of the Memorial Stu-«
dent Center at 7:30.
San Angelo-West Texas HTC
will meet in the Art room of the
Memorial Student Center at 7:30.
Apathy
Almost 3,000 students turned out to vote in the referendum
Tuesday. Judging from reactions to it, the turnout was just this side of
great.
This isn’t quite the case.
This university has reached a sad state of affairs when 3,000
voting out of a potential 14,000 is considered good.
Everybody on this campus has a potential say in what is going on.
The method is by voting.
Sure, the Student Senate is regarded as a rubber stamp outfit by
many students, and they may even be right. But if it is, the problem lies
more with the students than with the senate itself.
Students have to show support for their organizations by voting.
By voting wisely they can exert quite a large amount of influence on
such bodies as the Student Senate. They can control just who is going
to be on it, assure him that he or she is being watched and control the
kind of constitution he will work under,
crams > ' «>rai>&.>But do thfe^i.>Seeinvto*»a#fe?i.w*0 2 10W ohds/S.
r^.r Hardly. f r vl .7:.....
Get out and vote. You’ve blown it this time, but general elections
are coming up and there you can make yourself felt. Get up off your
apathy.
-acira tsiob
roaiiil • ei; «0'
CASA CHAPULTEPEC
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MARCH 9-10-11
1972
THURS—FRI— SAT
ALL QUANTITY
RIGHTS RSVDt
Judgment shown
The Student Senate showed rare good judgment Tuesday night
when they tabled action on censuring the vice-president for business
and approved the resolution calling for required search warrants to
enter students’ rooms.
The senate realized that they had not the information necessary
to decide just who was to blame, if anybody was, in the increase in the
Memorial Student Center Complex fee.
Several questions were either going unanswered or only partially
answered during the debate. By waiting to get more information and
thinking a while longer, the senate showed more intelligence than usual.
Something as powerful and personal as a censure should not be
approved of lightly. That becomes all the more so when there are
still questions unanswered and only hearsay evidence on other points.
Also to be commended is the senate’s judgment in calling for
required search warrants to enter rooms and search personal belongings
of students.
Though the policy is already in effect campus-wide, by getting it
into University Rules and Regulations, the student is protected from
variances in personal opinions of those enforcing the rules.
Protection of student rights should be the prime consideration on
our rapidly expanding campus. The Student Senate should become a
leader in seeing to it that they remain intact.
HY-T0P
VEGETABLE
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WISHBONE ITALIAN
DRESSING
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PIES 5
CHICKEN
TURKEY
BEEF
MACARONI
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AARGH!
I noticed from reading mTS
the 8ATr THAT THEY'RE
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Jack Bin
president, :
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Furniture, ho
Many
Try-:
St. Pau
1)62 Ford F;
like job. 845
Army Dress
II, $30.
F e o p 1 e’s
Edition New
120. Two w
tense, $40.
Cbe Battalion
Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of
the student writers only. The Battalion is a non-tax-
supported, non-profit, self-supporting educational enter
prise edited and operated by students as a university and
community newspaper.
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Listen Up, The Battalion, Room 217, Services Building,
College Station, Texas 77843.
Members of the Student Publications Board are: Jim
Lindsey, chairman ; H. F. Filers, College of Liberal Arts;
ey, chairman ; H. F. Ellers, College of Liberal Arts;
White, College of Engineering ; Dr. Asa B. Childers, Jr.,
e of Veterinary Medicine; Dr. W. E. Tedrick, College
d Layne Kruse, student.
F. S.
Collei
of Agriculture ; an
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The Battalion, Room 217, Services
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otherwise credited in the
origin published herein,
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papei
Rights of republication of all other
are also reserved.
Second-Class postage paid at College Station, Texas.
EDITOR HAYDEN WHITSETT
Managing' Editor Doug Dilley
News Editor Sue Davis
Sports Editor John Curylo
Assistant Sports Editor Bill Henry
Joe Fa
220 E. 2
Giving ]
261