Man Apparently Kills Himself on Plane

[DoYouEverWonder]

February 9, 2006, 2:44 PM EST

DENVER -- A man apparently hanged himself in an airplane lavatory during a flight that was diverted to Denver after his body was discovered, police said.

Denver medical examiner's spokeswoman Michelle Weiss-Samaras said an autopsy was planned for the body of Gerald Georgettis, 56, of Miami, which was found Wednesday on a United Airlines flight from Washington, D.C., to Los Angeles.

"Right now, everything leads us to believe the male involved did commit suicide," police Detective Virginia Lopez said. No other passengers were ever in danger, she added.

A man with the same name and age was charged with arson and felony criminal mischief in Miami after a fire caused nearly $1 million in damage at a Ford dealership on Saturday. Weiss-Samaras and Miami-Dade County police could not confirm it was the same man.

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-brf-plane-death,0,4643189.story?coll=sns-ap-nation-headlines


So this guy might have had a warrant out for his arrest and he was still able to get on an airplane in the US. So much for Homeland Security and Bush protecting us from potential terrorists?

[rzemanfl]

1. Must have been a skinny short guy. n/t

[DoYouEverWonder]

2. Maybe he had to wait

for the plane to hit some turbulance?

[global1]

3. Another Terror Plot Twarted By *Co - Too Bad It's Been Reported.....

or we would find out about it from * himself 3 1/2 years from now.

[HuffleClaw]

4. wow.

good thing the airline didn't charge him too much or he might have decided to freak out on the plane too, though those airplane toilets are teeny, how someone could hang themselves in one at all is a suprise.

[Lars39]

5. How did he find room to hang himself in an airplane bathroom?

[Skittles]

11. really

I am an average size gal and have always wondered how those big guys can maneuver around in those airplane bathrooms

[colonel odis]

38. they can't. airplane lavatories are miserable.

[Buford Pusser]

6. Didn't quite get the hang of suicide hijacker school? n/t.

[flvegan]

7. Remember who he is

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/13801055.htm

He's no terrorist. He's just over the edge.

[rzemanfl]

9. Thanks for that. This guy lost it. Too bad. n/t

[DoYouEverWonder]

10. He's not terrorist?

"He calmly got into the car and drove it through the windows, sending glass shattering everywhere. He then doused gasoline or a flammable fluid on the Escape and other cars and struck a match."

Sounds like he probably terrorized at least a few people. Thank god no one got killed or hurt.

Edit: BTW - good find.

[flvegan]

17. C'mon...

This is no terrorist, regardless of those that felt fear due to his actions.

Agreed, though...glad nobody at the dealership was hurt. You can always replace a car or building.

[DoYouEverWonder]

23. What is the difference between this

Denise Cruz, another customer, witnessed the jaw-dropping incident. She had brought her car to be serviced and said she was in line when she saw Georgettis careen into the showroom.

"At first I thought someone had pushed the accelerator instead of the brakes by accident," she said. "But this dude drove through the showroom on purpose."

Cruz, described the scene as "pure panic," with people screaming "he's got a bomb!" She said that once the man was in the showroom, she saw him reach over into the passenger side for something, then heard a loud "boom."

"Flames were everywhere," she said.

and a car bomber in Baghdad?

[salin]

24. by definition

the use of the violent attacks are meant to achieve some sort of political outcome (though this rarely works) through the fear inspired - not at just at the instant of the attack, but to make people live "in terror" of future similar such incidents.

This is why the term is not used for individuals who go over the edge, come back to their workplace and shooting the place up. Those are violent (often homicidal) fits of rage - and while terror is instilled to anyone in the place, it is a single incident/act not a series of acts intended to make those at the workplace live in a constant state of fear.

The distinction, however, means very little to the persons in range of the violent (and sometimes deadly) behavior.

Back to the main story - how horrible for everyone involved.

[Rich Hunt]

27. "no terrorist"

You're only a terrorist if you're Muslim.

:eyes:

[rman]

29. Redefining "terrorism"

People have been doing all sort of weird/serious crimes for ages.
Also we've had terrorism for ages.

It is only since terrorism is the latest scare ("9-11 changed everything"), that crimes formerly not called terrorism, are called terrorism. Ie environmental activism.

Thus terrorism is created where there was none - by redefining what terrorism is. Kinda like how Gonzalez redefined what torture is.

I'm waiting for a rewrite of the dictionary where the word "crime" is dropped and replaced with the word "terrorism".

[MissB]

16. Wow. He went wayyyy over the edge.

Poor bugger must've really felt like there was no way out. I can't imagine that hanging oneself on an airplane is an easy feat.

[existentialist]

8. Good find.

I appreciate the post, and your comment on the effectiveness of homeland security is apt.

It does indeed tend to make one wonder.

("And I am perpetually awaiting a rebirth of wonder.")

[Posteritatis]

12. How does one "apparently" hang oneself? (n/t)

[DoYouEverWonder]

14. If the door was locked and no one was in there with him

good chance he hanged himself.

[dysfunctional press]

19. How?

what is there in an airplane bathroom- that's high enough for someone to hang themself on, and with what...?

enquiring minds want to know...

[enlightenment]

20. You can 'hang' yourself kneeling on the floor.

on edit: I don't think I should be giving directions. my bad. sorry.

[dysfunctional press]

21. kneeling on the floor in an irplane bathroom?

there's not really enough room to pull a michael hutchins(sp?- the INXS self-love victim)

[bleedingheart]

32. this could also be one of those erotic hanging episodes gone wrong

[DoYouEverWonder]

22. Must have brought his own rope?

If there's not enough room for one person to hang himself, how the heck would there be enough room for two people which would be required if he had been murdered?

[dysfunctional press]

25. my point is- i don't think he technically "hanged" himself...

what would he tie the rope to...? the smoke detector?

he may have asphyxiated himself somehow- but the cause of death in a "hanging" is usually a broken neck.

[rexcat]

30. When someone commits sucide by hanging...

they usually die of asphyxiation. I had the unpleasent duty while in the Air Force of assisting on two autopsies of airmen who commited sucide by hanging back in the early 70's. Both asphyxiated and the pathologist who I was working with that was typical. It takes a lot of force to break the neck and from the height someone usually hangs themself there is not enough force to break the neck.

[LisaL]

13. Why on Earth do it on the plane?

Pretty weird, isn't it?

[DoYouEverWonder]

15. Maybe he wanted to go out with a blast

but W thwarted the attempt by switching his shoe bombs for regular shoes?

[Bridget Burke]

26. Why on Earth hang yourself at all?

Most of the time, suicide is not a sane thing to do. So why expect people who commit suicide to do it sanely?

[Rich Hunt]

28. probably wanted to make a statement

People say a lot about who they are or why they want to die by how they choose to commit suicide.

[shanti]

37. the man apparently liked "statements"

as he had made one previously with his arson beef. he was way over the top, basically saying "f*ck y'all". wonder why his bail was only $1500 tho.....

[Spinzonner]

18. Does he get only half the frequent flyer miles

since he didnt complete the trip alive ?

[wordpix]

31. if warrant out for his arrest, this IS huge-shows airport security hole

[DoYouEverWonder]

33. He was arrested on Saturday

and release on a $1500 bond.

I want to know wtf is the judge that let this asshole back on the street, without an ankle bracelet and/or travel restrictions.

[Divine Discontent]

34. now THIS

is the kind of post that is great for this strange event.

I can't believe there are so many comments about terrorism. The guy flipped out, it's not a terrorist act. Terrorists have political/moral agendas, and he hasn't been proven yet to be a part of any groups. Very sad, but sooooo very strange his 2 most well known actions. Indeed.

[ComerPerro]

35. I would too if I found out I was being diverted to Denver

[LostinVA]

39. Hahaha! Worst US airport I have EVER been to.

[Straight Shooter]

36. Gerald Georgettis, unofficial founder of the Mile-High Suicide Club.

You can bet there will be copycats.