“Can I just ask what this cargo is?”
“Munitions Of War…”
During a B777 delivery at Everett Airport in Seattle, we were informed that President Barrack Obama would be arriving in Air Force One to visit Boeing and the people of Seattle as part of his campaign tour. A senior Boeing employee told us that no one was allowed to leave any building whilst the President was on-site and the Secret Service would closely monitor our compliance in this matter.
So, late morning, the day of our delivery, the runway was cleared and Air Force One came through the clouds. It landed and taxied to stand, coming to a full stop very close to the B777 that we were working on. It was quite a sight. Once this prestigious distraction had lost its hold we continued our work, until I received a phone call from an Etihad Cargo Forwarding Agent, based in Los Angeles. He informed me that there was some cargo that he would put on our aircraft to be taken to Abu Dhabi.
“Can I just ask what this cargo is?” I enquired.
“Munitions of War.” The cargo agent replied.
I had to check I had heard him correctly.
“Could you repeat that please?”
“Certainly, the cargo is three and a half tonnes of munitions of war.”
I glanced out the window at the enormous silhouette of Air Force One, before answering.
“Absolutely not!” I stated. “You are not bringing that cargo here!”
I then explained that the President of The United States was visiting Everett, Air Force One was pretty much parked next to our aircraft and the entire facility, including the gate that said cargo would have to pass through, was swarming with Secret Service Agents.
There was a very long pause before the LA agent replied “I see…The cargo will be diverted immediately!”
I thanked him for his understanding and hung up, I let out an enormous sigh of relief, comforted by the fact that I had hopefully avoided seeing the inside of Guantanamo Bay and would not need to be fitted for an orange jumpsuit!
For extra measure, I went and found the company’s legal representative, who was on site for the delivery, and told him what had just happened. He told me plainly that he would have been unable to assist me in any way so I would have been on my own with the Secret Service, had that freight arrived! The sigh of relief that poured out of me then, eclipsed the first by a large margin. Once that excitement was over, we got on with our final delivery checks and the plane departed on schedule for its 15-hour flight, minus the…munitions of war!
About 3 months after this incident, I found myself back in Seattle for another 777 delivery when I received another call from a cargo agent on the day of delivery. Once more, they requested if they could put some cargo on our empty plane, bound for Abu Dhabi. When they said the weight was three tonnes again, a small, but loud alarm started to ring in my head.
“What’s the cargo?! I blurted out.
“Commercial Electronics” he replied calmly.
Satisfied with the answer and suddenly aware that the Prez was safe and sound in the White House, I approved the request but only upon the condition that I received a copy of the manifest. It was swiftly emailed over and stated clearly that the freight was indeed commercial electronics. I forwarded a copy of that to my cargo department, informing them that this would be shipped on the aircraft. They thanked me for the information and the freight was approved.
When the cargo arrived, it was packaged in a series of blue barrels, each roughly the size of a 15kg propane tank. They were loaded onto the aircraft, and Boeing completed the paperwork, which they then gave to the crew, including this cargo. The crew signed the load sheet, returned a copy to Boeing, and departed on schedule to Abu Dhabi.
On arrival, the aircraft parked in the cargo area, and we were all bussed over to the terminals so we could go through passport control. Once I cleared security, I left the passenger terminal and returned to my apartment for a well-earned rest.
About three hours in, I was roused from my sleep by my phone ringing constantly. I answered and was greeted by the VP of technical who sounded extremely agitated.
“What the hell was on that plane?!” he roared.
I was so tired and confused at this point, “Commercial electronics, I’ll forward you the manifest!” I said casually, “Why…what’s the problem?”
“The problem, is two directors have been taken to the police station and the aircraft is currently surrounded by the army!”
“Well…that’s very concerning! All I can tell you is what the manifest told me!”
I then had a thought and remembered the weight and the Air Force One incident a few months back and had to ask, “By any chance does the cargo happen to be munitions of war?”
‘Yes! The cargo is missile guidance systems! How did you know?!”
I then recanted the incident at Everett 3 months prior. He thanked me for all of this information which he was going to take to the police and cargo team immediately. The call ended there and then, and I went back to sleep. I was woken again, 3 hours later by the same VP who confirmed that because the missile guidance systems were for the UAE army and not anyone else, all charges had been dropped.
I learnt many things that day, the main lessons being that I would be an awful arms dealer, not every manifest is accurate or truthful and that even if cargo is legitimate, it’s probably worth a peek inside!!!
We’re very happy to say that we have nothing to do with the arms trade. But if you wish to organise an aircraft delivery or would like to book our consultancy services, please get in touch via our contact page.
