Posted on 08/13/2004 8:45:48 AM PDT by FlatLandBeer
AIRPORT WATCH CONCEPT HELPS NAB 'BAD GUYS' Here's proof that GA airports really are small communities and that the "residents" know when something is amiss. On Wednesday, this led to the nabbing of some suspicious characters at St. Louis Downtown Airport. It all started when a man telephoned an FBO not far from the Gateway Arch and asked about chartering a helicopter. About an hour later, two men walked into the FBO, pulled out cash to pay for the flight, and presented driver's licenses from two different states as ID. Office staff noticed their car was registered in a third state and called the FBI and local police. FBO workers stalled the two suspects until the authorities arrived. After a little time behind bars, the two "terrorists" confessed that they were NBC employees from New York. Their assignment: A story on how "easy" it is to get information and directions to a helicopter and then hijack it. St. Louis was their first attempt;
the network reportedly planned similar tries to penetrate security at airports around the country. "This incident demonstrates the validity of the Airport Watch concept," said AOPA President Phil Boyer. "Vigilant pilots and airport workers make the best security force because they know who does and doesn't belong at the airport. They can easily spot the things that just don't seem right." For more, see AOPA Online (http://www.aopa.org/whatsnew/newsitems/2004/040812watch.html ).
If these terrorists do not go to GITMO, there will be more attempts.
More likely, probably, they will be rewarded -- like Berger-burglar.
Good Hunting!
It's illustrative of how much the media thinks the Terror War is a game, by the games they play.
These morons may try something like this with the wrong folks one day, and get their butts shot for their trouble.
An armed pilot expecting the worst will not be hesitant to drop the hammer on a threat.
Did I mention that I am a licensed pilot? LOL.
all i know is you should be locked up....
bump
And an an 'FBO' is...? What?
No, NO! We need unionized federal drones employees at every GA airport to make us safe!
Fixed Base Operator. It's a facility in an airport for private planes. They provide aviation fuel, maintenance and some food service. Some of them have a free vehicle pilots can borrow to go out and get groceries and the like.
I have a friend who flies a Mooney so I got to see a bunch of them and check out all the free Jets for Sale publications. I really would have loved a jet but even the cheap ones cost over $2,000 an hour to fly. A Mooney costs around $70 an hour. Although a jet is about three times as fast, that's still quite a difference.
Jets, of course, get the royal treatment at FBOs thanks to all the fuel they use and the high cost of maintenance services.
D
dude, with a name like "Cobra", you should know what an FBO is.
BTTT
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