Capt Wight’s family ‘happy to have him home’

“We are just happy to have him home,” yesterday stated a female relative of Anthony Wight, one of two BWIA pilots who were detained by the FBI in Miami last week, and who returned to Trinidad on Monday night. The sentiments were expressed to Newsday as we attempted to contact Wight to enquire about his health, and to obtain a true picture of what transpired when the FBI accosted the plane on arrival in Miami. The two BWIA pilots, Anthony Wight and Rawle Joseph, were detained by officers of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) upon their arrival in Miami and New York respectively, as their names had appeared on a US “no-fly” list.

Shortly after Wight’s return to Trinidad on Monday night, he was taken to the VIP Lounge at the Piarco International Airport where he met with a senior official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Following the meeting, he was hustled through a pre-arranged exit as BWIA representatives attempted to shield him from the media. Wight’s relative said it was highly doubtful that Wight would return any calls by the media. Contacted by Newsday on when First Officer Rawle Joseph would be released, BWIA’s communications manager Clint Williams said he had no idea, and stated “It’s in the hands of the people who are handling the paperwork.” Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cheryl Moses confirmed that Wight had returned to Trinidad on Monday night, but admitted that they had not heard anything of Joseph’s release, as his name was still on the “no-fly” list. Moses explained that Joseph would be “grounded” for however long it took to get his name cleared, and that he would be unable to travel for the duration of that time.

In the meantime, Foreign Affairs has labelled 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.” It was revealed by the Ministry in a press release that Wight had been interrogated for almost 12 hours by both the FBI and immigration authorities, despite the fact that a serious error of identity had been established. Describing the subsequent action of the immigration authorities as “arrogantly vindictive,” the release said Wight’s crew and US passenger visas had been cancelled, and that he had been released into BWIA’s custody with an accompanying armed escort. First Officer Rawle Joseph was apprehended by Customs and Immigration Officials at JFK International Airport, in full view of his crew and passengers. After a lengthy interrogation, it was determined that as there was no justification for detaining Joseph, he was accordingly released. The names of both pilots’ were placed on a “no-fly” list by the National Joint Task Force, and they were not allowed to leave the US.

Wight’s name has since been removed from the list, but up to press-time, there was no word on whether Joseph’s name had been removed. The Ministry, through its Embassy in Washington, which has diplomatic jurisdiction over the entire US, has sought the intervention of the Secretary of State and the Department of Homeland Security to remove the names of Wight and Joseph from the “no-fly’ list; and to re-issue US visas to Wight with adequate assurances of such freedom of entry and exit relative to the US as previously enjoyed. In addition, the ministry is also asking for financial compensation for the airline, in respect of costs incurred, as well as written apologies to both pilots, the Government and the national airline. On the issue of having armed marshals on certain flights into the US, and if BWIA flights had been requested to observe these directives, Clint Williams stated “BWIA has always complied with security directives from the FAA,”  adding that they would need to assess the specifics on what was needed to be done.