On May 26, 1986, People Express flight number 14 from San Francisco to Newark was ready to depart. Suddenly a wild-eyed man who "looked Iranian" bolted from his seat and ran out the door. Knocking aside startled security officers, he frantically tried to escape through the locked doors of the terminal before an airport police officer finally tackled and subdued him. Was he a terrorist? No. He was just a very average American who was afraid to fly. Unfortunately, he was so frightened of being locked into the confines of the Boeing 707 that he made a fool of himself!

In fact, all 200 passengers were ordered off the plane; and all the baggage was removed. While police searched for a bomb, and passengers fumed over the delay, the embarrassed man had to convince officials that he was simply af…