A University of Pennsylvania
associate professor boarded the Philadelphia-Syracuse flight on Thursday on his
way to Ontario, where he was due to give a lecture.
The Italian economist says
his flight was delayed after a fellow passenger saw him working on a
differential equation and alerted the cabin crew.
Guido Menzio was taken off
and questioned by agents who did not identify themselves, after the woman next
to him said she felt ill.
He showed them what he had
been writing and the flight eventually took off - more than two hours late.
Mr Menzio told the
Washington Post that the pilot seemed embarrassed.
He wrote on Facebook that
the experience was "unbelievable" and made him laugh.
Before the flight took off,
the woman sitting next to him passed a note to a member of the cabin crew.
She initially told them she
was feeling unwell but then voiced her suspicions about Mr Menzio's
scribblings.
He wrote: "It's a bit
funny. It's a bit worrisome.
"The lady just looked
at me, looked at my writing of mysterious formulae, and concluded I was up to
no good.
"Because of that an
entire flight was delayed."
He told Associated Press
that the crew should have run additional checks before delaying take-off.
He said: "Not seeking
additional information after reports of 'suspicious activity' is going to
create a lot of problems, especially as xenophobic attitudes may be
emerging."
American Airlines, whose
regional partner Air Wisconsin was operating the flight in question, said the
crew followed protocol to take care of an ill passenger and then to investigate
her allegations. It was established that they were not credible.
The woman was re-booked on
a later flight.
BBC
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