Airline Apologizes For Booting 9 Muslims

The incident began about 1 p.m. Thursday when Atif Irfan, his wife, Sobia Ijaz, 21, and Kashif Irfan's wife, Inayet Sahin, 33, took their seats at the rear of the plane.

Officials said two teenage girls sitting nearby became alarmed when they heard Sahin remark that sitting near the engines would not be safe in the event of an accident or an explosion. The girls told their parents, who told a flight attendant, AirTran officials said.

The Muslim passengers said their innocuous banter was misconstrued.

"The conversation we were having was the conversation anyone would have," Atif Irfan said in a telephone interview from Florida. "She did not use the word 'bomb,' she did not use the word 'explosion.' She said it would not be safe to sit next to the engines in the event of an accident."

Officials with the airline and the TSA differ over what happened next.

AirTran officials said the flight attendant notified two federal air marshals on board about the report before telling the captain. The air marshals called both the FBI and airport police to the scene before the pilot emerged from the cockpit, the airline said.

But TSA officials said the pilot, who has authority over who flies on his plane, requested that the air marshals investigate and that the passengers be removed.

FBI agents quickly cleared the passengers of wrongdoing. However, an AirTran gate agent barred them from booking a new flight because she had not been notified of their clearance, the airline said.

One traveler became irate and made an inappropriate remark, the airline said. Airport police were summoned, but by the time officers arrived, the passengers had left to book a flight on another airline, airport spokeswoman Tara Hamilton said.

Inayet Sahin disputed the airline's account. The gate agent "saw the FBI agents leave," Sahin said. "She told us that her corporate office told her not to rebook us on the flight."

Atif Irfan said he was glad for the apology but said the group had not decided whether to accept AirTran's offer to pay for their replacement tickets and return flight.

CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad said, "There is a big difference between 'see something, say something,' which we all support, and reporting suspicions based solely on stereotyping and bias." His group was contacted by the Irfans for assistance and reported the incident to news organizations.

Staff researchers Madonna Lebling and Meg White contributed to this report.