Posted on 10/22/2001 11:48:39 AM PDT by slowry
Syrians flood flight schools
14 enter at Dallas/Fort Worth; INS gives passport info to FBI
By Paul Sperry
© 2001 WorldNetDaily.com
WASHINGTON – In just the past two days, 14 Syrian men entered the U.S. through Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport on student visas to attend flight schools at Fort Worth Meacham International Airport, WorldNetDaily has learned exclusively.
The State Department lists Syria as a state sponsor of terrorism.
The Syrian men, whose M-1 visas expire April 2002, flew in from London aboard two British Airways flights, with one group of seven arriving Sunday and the rest on Monday – the day before the Federal Aviation Administration lifted its post-attack ban on novice pilots flying private planes solo in airspace around major metropolitan areas.
"Seems that they knew the private plane ban was going to be lifted today," said an Immigration and Naturalization Service inspector at DFW.
After the second wave of Syrians deplaned, INS inspectors called the FBI, which asked inspectors to photocopy their passports and other papers, according to the INS source.
The men, all clean-shaven and in their mid-20s, were not detained, however, and the FBI did not interview them – although agents have recently questioned Middle Eastern students enrolled at Meacham field schools.
The Syrians told immigration inspectors they came here to train to be pilots for their country's national airline, and were enrolled at Delta-Qualiflight Aeronautics.
Delta is one of four Meacham field schools run by Middle Eastern men, airport records reviewed by WorldNetDaily show. There are eight schools in all.
Delta-Qualiflight Aeronautics, owned by Khaled Miloud, enrolls the largest share of Middle Eastern students, according to airport sources, who say Arabic is the main language spoken at the school. Miloud did not return phone calls.
The schools, using Meacham field's two runways and flight simulators, train students to fly primarily single and twin-engine aircraft.
The FBI would not comment on the Syrian students. But a spokeswoman for the bureau's Dallas office said agents have been "working very closely" with INS inspectors at DFW to monitor Middle Easterners coming into the U.S. on flight-school visas.
"We're getting thousands of leads here at the Dallas division, many of them concerning Middle Eastern individuals coming in and going to flight schools," Dallas FBI spokeswoman Lori Bailey told WorldNetDaily. "We have several flight schools in the Dallas-Fort Worth area."
INS inspectors at DFW have detained "numerous" Middle Easterners who are in violation of immigration laws, she said. But the FBI has not arrested any in connection with the PENTTBOM investigation of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
After the 9-11 hijackings, FBI agents tracked a suspicious Algerian man to another Meacham field flight school called American Flyers .... [click to finish]
Eagle International
at Fort Worth Meacham International Airport
Services: Flight school / Flight training
Telephone: (817) 740-1300
Fax: (817) 740-1300
Email:hage@ctelcom.net
Web site: http://one.ctelcom.net/hage/
Delta-Qualiflight Aeronautics, owned by Khaled Miloud, enrolls the largest share of Middle Eastern students, according to airport sources, who say Arabic is the main language spoken at the school.
I am going to call my Illinois rep and my IL senators in a minute and demand they look into it. If I don't get the right answers from them, I'm going to call the Texas delegation and ride their behinds.
This is the HEIGHT OF STUPIDITY!!!!!
"For living or dark undead, I will smite you, if you touch him."
I'm no racist. I'm a realist. Peggy Noonan's lates article in the WSJ is excellent. Ann Coulter is right. WE must keep the heat on because clearly our beloved representatives aren't getting it done on their own.
Contact your congressmen/women, NOW!
If we have a couple intelligence agents there who speak Arabic, this could present some wonderful opportunities since I suspect these people will talk more freely in Arabic than they would in English.
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