Herald Sun: Dead man did not speak of bomb [10dec05]

Herald Sun: Dead man did not speak of bomb [10dec05]:

"THE man who was shot and killed by US air marshals in Miami on Thursday never spoke of a bomb, a fellow passenger said.

The witness, John McAlhany, said Rigoberto Alpizar seemed to suffer a panic attack and dashed up the plane's aisle.

US authorities say Mr Alpizar, 44, was shot and killed after threatening to detonate a bomb on an American Airlines plane.

'He just wanted to get off the plane,' said Mr McAlhany, who was sitting in the middle of the Boeing 757.

The incident is now being compared with the July shooting of an innocent Brazilian electrician on the London Underground.

Mr Alpizar was mentally ill, neighbours said yesterday, but managed his condition with medication.

Mr McAlhany told a reporter he heard Mr Alpizar arguing with his wife, saying, 'I have to get off the plane.'

'She said, `Calm down',' Mr McAlhany said.

Mr Alpizar, who was sitting near the back, then ran down the aisle, with his wife close behind him.

'She was running behind him saying, `He's sick. He's sick. He's ill. He's got a disorder',' Mr McAlhany recalled. 'She was trying to explain to the marshals that he was ill. He just wanted to get off."