An Italian maths professor was escorted off an American Airlines flight after a fellow passenger feared his mysterious scribbling on a notepad was evidence that he was a terrorist.
In fact Guido Menzio was working on an equation connected with a presentation on price-setting he was due to present.
But the sight of a slightly swarthy curly-haired individual scrawling odd symbols on a notepad was enough to alarm the woman who was sitting next to him on the flight from Philadelphia to Syracuse.
She thought the mysterious writing was evidence that he had nefarious intent. The woman decided to feign illness and passed a note to a member of the cabin crew.
The note contained detail of her suspicions and the plane sat on the tarmac.