A Hawaiian Airlines pilot and two agents and four Transportation Security Agency personnel were presented with certificates from the Legislature Thursday, to commend their heroism the evening of May 8 when an armed man charged into a passenger terminal at Lihu‘e Airport.
Glen Hing, John McAtee, Antonio Pope and Orlando Pacheco, of TSA, and First officer Ed Jones, Charlotte Hamada and Marianne “Boots” Mata, of Hawaiian Airlines, were given the commendations by Sen. Gary Hooser, D-Kaua‘i, Thursday at the airport.
Hooser read each recipient’s certificate aloud, recounting the events of that afternoon.
At about 6 p.m. May 8, Lloyd P. Albinio, 24, of Kapa‘a, parked his vehicle somewhere past the Hawaiian Airlines baggage claim area, at the end of the main airport building. Albinio was armed with a semiautomatic, 9mm Sig Sauer pistol and walked through the baggage claim area into what’s called a “sterile area” and is secured by TSA, where he fired a shot into the ceiling. While passengers were exiting a plane, Albinio entered the passenger holding area, where he sat on a bench and shot the gun again, then sat down and pointed the gun at his head, police records said. Police entered, and got Albinio to surrender.
Hawaiian Airlines First Officer Ed Jones was off-duty at the time but was waiting to travel on the next outgoing flight, and was talking with Hamada at the check-in podium as the gunman entered the waiting area. He saw Albinio had a gun, and with 11 years experience as a paramedic and firefighter in the Los Angeles area, he immediately dropped to the floor and ordered other passengers to do the same. Jones went over to Albinio as he sat on a bench, and asked him to let the passengers exit the terminal.
Meanwhile, Hawaiian Airlines chief agent Marianne “Boots” Mata ordered the deplaning passengers to get back on the plane. Agent Charlotte Hamada directed passengers waiting to board to get out of the holding area. She also used a telephone at the gate check-in podium to call for security.
“It’s an incident that could have turned out very differently if any of you or the workers at TSA had acted any differently or panicked,” Hooser told the Hawaiian Air employees, “It could have been a major disaster. The situation was defused and no one was hurt.”
Hamada, Jones and Mata were clearly emotional as Hooser read their certificates. They agreed later that their concern was for the passengers and making sure no one got hurt. The three were also nominated for the Kupono Award, Hawaiian Airlines’ Award of Excellence, for their bravery in dealing with the situation.
“Their job is a lot like lifeguards or firefighters,” Hooser said of the TSA employees, “They spend a lot of time just watching, but they have to be ready for action should the need arise.”
Albinio, armed with his loaded handgun, met TSA officer Glen Hing, who was stationed at the automatic revolving door at the terminal exit.
“I tried to stop him from coming in,” Hing said after the presentations were made. “I held my hand up, tried to see if he was serious. I saw the gun was real, I asked him ‘is it loaded?’ He looked at my face, he must have known what I was thinking, because he turned and fired, then had it right back on me.”
Pacheco and McAtee, TSA screeners, and Pope, a TSA officer, all assisted getting people in the area to safety and securing the scene until officers from the Kaua‘i Police Department arrived.
