Five years ago, a colleague of mine told me a story of being frightened on a train when she saw a man strap some boxes to himself and begin swaying back and forth. She reported it to the conductor, who reassured her that it was just "a Jewish prayer thing." The man was praying while wearing tefillin, a standard part of weekday morning prayers. See: http://www.jewfaq.org/signs.htm#Tefillin . Unfortunately, the pilot and flight crew of a U.S. Airways Express flight from New York to Louisville yesterday was not as well-versed in Jewish tradition as the conductor of that train. When a 17-year-old boy laid tefillin and began davening shacharit (reciting morning prayers), the pilot diverted to Philadelphia, where police swarmed the plane waving guns at everyone, especially the young boy. See: A Flight Is Diverted by a Prayer Seen as Ominous . The situation was sorted out quickly and the plane continued on its way to Louisville.