Capt Wight returns home, but Joseph still detained in NY

Captain Anthony Wight, one of the two BWIA pilots detained by the FBI last week, returned home last night. The other BWIA employee, co-pilot Rawle Joseph, is still being detained in New York. Shortly after Captain Wight returned from Miami he held discussions with a senior official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the airport’s VIP Lounge. Captain Wight was able to leave the airport through a prearranged exit in the airline’s effort to avoid him facing media glare. As a result of the detention of the two pilots over the Christmas holidays the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday called for an apology from the US Government. The Ministry also called for the clearing of the two pilots’ names which appeared on a US terrorist “no fly” list. Captain Wight was detained in Miami while Joseph is still detained in New York.
  
The ministry yesterday described placing the names of the two pilots on the list and seizure of their US visas as some form of vindictiveness.
The ministry  is also calling for a written apology to the two pilots, the national airline BWIA, as well as the TT government, and in addition,  would also like adequate financial compensation for costs incurred by BWIA. Meantime unexplained delays resulted in BWIA First Officer Rawle Joseph’s name remaining on the “no fly list” up to late yesterday evening. However his colleague, Captain Anthony Wight, who was detained by FBI agents under similar conditions in Miami, returned home last night as a passenger instead of a crew member. The ministry of Foreign Affairs has described the detention of both pilots as “unwarranted, unjustified and severely damaging, not only to their image and reputation, but also to the national airline.” BWIA officials received confirmation of Wight’s name being taken off the list before lunch, but Corporate Communications Man-ager, Clint Williams, said he could not explain the delay in Joseph’s name being taken off the list. Up to 4 pm local time, the airline was still awaiting confirmation that Joseph’s name had been removed from the list.

Williams told Newsday the airline, with officials at the TT Consu-late office in New York, were working feverishly to have the necessary papers processed, but “things are entirely out of our hands.” Williams said BWIA had hoped that Joseph’s name would have been taken off the list yesterday. The pilots were detained in Miami and New York respectively by FBI agents following the appearance of their names on the alleged suspected terrorist “no fly list.” Their travel documents were initially taken away from them, but subsequently returned, although they were warned they could not leave the US. A statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said that Captain Wight arrived in Miami on BWIA 484, which he piloted on Christmas Eve, but was “arbitrarily detained” by FBI agents and Immigration officials at Miami International airport. The ministry said Wight was interrogated for almost 12 hours, but although it was “quickly apparent that a serious error of identity had been made, and when it became clear that Wight’s character was spotless, the Immigration authorities, in an act that can only be described as arrogantly vindictive, cancelled Captain Wight’s crew and US passenger visas.” Wight was then released into Bwee’s custody with an accompanying armed escort.

In the case of Joseph, the ministry confirmed that he was apprehended in the full view of his passengers on arrival at JFK International airport on December 23. He too was interrogated for  hours and was released after it was determined that there was “no justification” for his detention. The ministry said his visas were not cancelled. The ministry explained that on hearing of the pilots’ detention on Christmas Day, Minister of Foreign Affairs Knowlson Gift quickly got into action in trying to secure the pilots release. The statement said TT’s Ambas-sador in Washington, Marina Valere, immediately wrote to Secretary of State of the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security. Valere is said to have requested that in addition to the pilots names being removed from the list, US visas be re-issued to Captain Wight, with “adequate assurances of such freedom of entry and exit relative to the US as previously enjoyed; that BWIA obtain adequate reparation in respect of costs incurred in dealing with the repercussions, and that written apologies be issued to the pilots, as well as the Government of TT for the national embarrassment.” The statement also said that it was seeking to ensure that the careers of the pilots “are not adversely affected by this incident.”