Scouting jetliners for new attacks

The Washington Times ^ | 07/22/04 | Audrey Hudson

[conservative in nyc]

Terrorists testing jets, crews say


By Audrey Hudson
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Flight crews and air marshals say Middle Eastern men are staking out airports, probing security measures and conducting test runs aboard airplanes for a terrorist attack.
    At least two midflight incidents have involved numerous men of Middle Eastern descent behaving in what one pilot called "stereotypical" behavior of an organized attempt to attack a plane.

---Snip---

A June 29 incident aboard Northwest Airlines Flight 327 from Detroit to Los Angeles is similar to a Feb. 15 incident on American Airlines Flight 1732 from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to New York's John F. Kennedy Airport.

---Snip---

 "I've never been in a situation where I have felt that afraid," said Annie Jacobsen, a business and finance feature writer for the online magazine Women's Wall Street who was aboard the Northwest flight.

[conservative in nyc]

The Annie Jacobsen story has made the Washington Times. Apparently, there was a similar dry run on a flight from San Juan to Kennedy.

Click on the link for more.

[Vince Ferrer]

But they are also giving themselves away for free. They are not anonymous on the airplane, and will be monitored for a long time after the flight.

[drq]

btt

[sweneop]

did you catch the article? most of it seemed like a bit of hysterics from an overly imaginative woman, and apparently some of the investigators have stated they think the eyewitness accounts werent reliable. admittedly, most people would perhaps get a bit scared and have some thoughts if they saw those guys on their flight, but afterwards, and after the investigation, you might start to figure out 'hey, maybe they WERE really musicians?'

at least shes getting some self-promottion for her website and publications out of it.

[aruanan]

The Annie Jacobsen story has made the Washington Times.

Turns out that what she saw was, indeed, only a weird band on its way to a gig in Southern California.

[GeronL]

The National Review website says the 'Mystery of the Syrian Musicians is solved'.

Annie Jacobsen's recent piece for WomensWallStreet.Com made waves. Her account of flying with her family while 14 Middle Eastern passengers acted in a threatening and apparently coordinated manner makes for a terrifying read. Her article captures her sickening sense of both uncertainty and inevitability as what might possibly have been the next 9/11 unfolded around her.

Fortunately, nothing of the sort happened. On June 29, Northwest Airlines Flight 327 landed safely in Los Angeles and a phalanx of law enforcement greeted the suspicious passengers, whisking them away for some intense interviews. Jacobsen noted a pile of Syrian passports in the hand of a law-enforcement official.

But the men checked out, and Jacobsen was told that they were "hired as musicians to play at a casino in the desert." She was not told the name of the band, nor the name of the casino. And as her story made the rounds through the Internet and beyond (the Dallas Morning News printed a condensed version earlier this week), a note of skepticism about her story crept in. Had she imagined the whole thing? Or was the government covering up a "dry run" for another terrorist attack?

The link is here

[tophat9000]

This is BS! that they can't hold these people!

[SeattleNeedsHelp]

Yea, I think they were auditioning for Linda Ronstadt's new band

[conservative in nyc]

Yes, I saw the original article. The tone did come off as a bit hysterical. But the fact that there was a similar incident on a San Juan-Kennedy flight raises my antenna. And further down, the article describes someone who took the mirror off of the front lavatory to try to get into the cockpit.

The bad guys seem to be probing, that's for sure.

[TheDon]

"It's a probe. They are probing us," said a second air marshal, who confirmed that Middle Eastern men try to flush out marshals by rushing the cockpit and stopping suddenly.

There are other interesting probe incidents in the story.

[doug from upland]

In Oklahoma City, the terror cell is made of of those in the auto repair business. Can't "musician" be a cover?

[TheDon]

No doubt.

[MPJackal]

"But they are also giving themselves away for free. They are not anonymous on the airplane, and will be monitored for a long time after the flight."

This is a distraction. No one is that obvious unless they want to be noticed. Maybe this is just another tactic to terrorize us. maybe they want us to focus on air travel rather than something else. Maybe both.

[sweneop]

they may be probing, but im doubting very much that these guys are it. they might as well have been carrying signs that say 'TERRORIST' from her description.

no if there are probes happening, then this wasnt one of them.

[Frapster]

In the first part of 2002 I had my own experience where I observed a number of men who appeared to be of ME origin all doing things similar to what was described in Mrs. Jacobsen's story. I have a friend who's an FAM and I described the event to him and he said that it's not an unfamiliar story. They regularly see various ways in which individuals are probing different aspects of security on the craft. Some less overt than others. It does not make me comfortable.

[Texas_Jarhead]

WOW! This article blew me away wuth stuff like this:

"A second pilot said that, on one of his recent flights, an air marshal forced his way into the lavatory at the front of his plane after a man of Middle Eastern descent locked himself in for a long period.

The marshal found the mirror had been removed and the man was attempting to break through the wall. The cockpit was on the other side.

The second pilot said terrorists are "absolutely" testing security."

and this too

""It's a probe. They are probing us," said a second air marshal, who confirmed that Middle Eastern men try to flush out marshals by rushing the cockpit and stopping suddenly."

[Jeff Head]

"maybe they WERE really musicians"

Yea, and maybe the twin towers are still standing.

[spokeshave]

And no one on either flight had a camera....or a CAMERA CELL PHONE....should have popped of a couple megabyts of pics (of a few rolls for the oldie analog folks) of the miscreants.

[beaversmom]

Gee you just read my mind. Maybe they want us to focus on planes because they are really planning something else. In the mean time, they can freak people out. Mind games.

[TheLion]

Why are we letting groups of middle eastern men....probably non-citizens....fly on our planes. Are we stupid or what?

I remember right after 9/11, China wouldn't permit people from 20 countries to fly on their planes. I thought this rather wise at the time.