Helen's flight to the States was made miserable because she couldn't recline her seat and the person in front of her could. Broken seat? Maybe not.

WASHINGTON - Every cramped air traveler may have the right to lean his seat back, but Ira Goldman sees airplane justice from another perspective — that of the person behind — and he's found a way to even the score.

Goldman invented the Knee Defender, a beeper-sized block of plastic that lets passengers prevent the seat in front of them from reclining

The hard plastic block, which has an inch-wide groove down the middle, fits around the arm of a tray table and acts as a barrier to the seat's backward movement.

So next time your seat won't go back, go ahead and check for the Knee Defender. In the event of an emergency your seat cushion may be detached to serve as a non-lethal bludgeon.