Pennsylvania Uni. Prof. Escorted Off A Plane After Seat Mate Suspected Him To Being A Terrorist While Solving Maths Equation

A University of Pennsylvania professor sitting on an American Airlines was escorted off the flight after his seat mate suspected him being a possible Middle Eastern terrorist writing threatening notes.


It turned out the 40-year-old Guido Menzio wasn't writing secret messages. He was solving a differential equation.

Menzio's flight from Philadelphia to Syracuse on Thursday night was delayed for more than two hours after the woman sitting next to him told the crew she was worried about her seat mate.

Being escorted off the plane and informed by an official that his seatmate had suspected he was a terrorist, Menzio showed officials what he had been working on, an equation regarding menu costs and price dispersion. The professor was soon allowed to return to his seat, and said the pilot seemed embarrassed by the whole thing.