Hijacker Activities Uncovered in Fla., N.J./ Witness: Hijack suspect visited crop dusting airfield.

ABCNEWS.com ^ | Witness: Hijack suspect visited crop dusting airfield. | Brian Ross and John Miller

[afraidfortherepublic]

Thanks for the report.

[surfer]

bttt

[imperator2]

We the people of the USA should demand the our government immediatly deport all illegal immigrants from the Middle East, and put a moratorium on all visas, including student visas from those countries!

[TonyInOhio]

BTTT

[The_Victor]

Federal authorities fear the suspect's presence at the airfield is another indication the terrorists may have planned, or still may plan, to use crop dusters to launch a chemical or biological attack.

I think the feds are giving the terrorists too much credit here. Chemical and biological weapons require a significant research/development/manufacturing infrastructure. More likely Atta was looking for an alternative to hijacking a airliner. Fill the chemical tanks on a crop duster with explosives (heck just use gasoline) and you have a helluva flying bomb. MHO

[LarryLied]

 Suspect eyed Glades planes

 By Sanjay Bhatt, Alex Navarro Clifton and Larry Hobbs,
Palm Beach Post Staff Writers
Monday, September 24, 2001

BELLE GLADE -- Suspected hijacker Mohamed Atta frequently visited and quizzed crop-dusting workers here about their operations -- as recently as three days before the attacks in New York and Washington -- prompting fears that a South Florida-based terrorist cell was plotting a biochemical attack.

 The Federal Aviation Administration late last week ordered a nationwide grounding of crop-dusters Saturday and Sunday and expanded restricted airspace at all major open-air sporting and other entertainment venues. The restricted airspace includes fairgrounds and stadiums, including Pro Player in Miami-Dade County where the Dolphins played Sunday against the Oakland Raiders.

 The no-fly zone would give military aircraft more time to scramble should any aircraft be spotted heading toward a stadium.

 The crop-dusters, grounded because of what sources called a "serious, credible threat," were allowed back in the air as of 12:05 a.m. today.

 FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen cited "national security" for the precautions, stopping short of connecting the restricted airspace and the crop-dusting prohibition to the fear of a biochemical assault.

 The order grounding crop-dusters was the second since the Sept. 11 attacks. Bergen said there is no plan to reinstate the ban next weekend.

 The FBI has determined that 12 of the 19 suspected hijackers had ties to South Florida -- and that Atta appeared to be the ringleader.

 James Lester, who loads chemicals on crop-dusters at the Belle Glade Airport, recognized Atta from an FBI photo. Lester said Atta visited the airport with two other Middle Eastern men.

 Lester, 50, of South Bay, has worked on crop-dusters for nearly 30 years. In the course of a 12-hour day, he loads the planes with pesticide or fertilizer, cleans them and mixes the chemicals.

 As long as he can remember, people have stopped at the airport, curious about crop-dusters. So he didn't think much of it when three Middle Eastern men showed up in February.

 Atta asked a lot of questions, Lester said, and mentioned that he was a student pilot.

 "He wanted to sit in the airplane," Lester recalled. "I told him he couldn't do that. The owner wouldn't allow that."

 Atta and his two companions, who Lester said spoke in muffled Arabic, just walked around the planes, looking them over.

 Lester doesn't believe Atta would have been able to fly the crop-duster.

 "It's a totally different airplane," Lester said. "Just 'cause you fly a commercial airplane, you can't just jump in there and fly 'em."

 Still, the encounter chilled Lester.

 "It's mind-boggling to think something like this could happen to you here in your back yard," he said.

 Lester works for Willie Lee, 62, who has been crop-dusting in the Glades for 40 years. Lee said he didn't pay much attention to the visitors, and didn't recognize any of them when the FBI showed him pictures early last week.

 Lee said the men came to the airport just about every weekend in July and August -- most recently on Sept. 8, three days before the hijackings. Lee said they asked questions about the flying capabilities of crop-dusters and the amount of chemicals they can hold.

 He said they were different from the Arab-Americans who live in Belle Glade. The visitors, he said, were pushy and arrogant.

 Lee, who flies an Air Tractor 502, says about 10 crop-dusting outfits are based nearby. His plane holds three hours of fuel and holds 500 gallons of pesticide.

 "They gave me the idea they were flight students," Lee said. "They just acted like they were learning how to fly to go back home to fly for a living. I was busy and didn't take a lot of time to talk to them."

 Still, he reported the visits to police.

 "I never thought anything of it until after the bombings. That's when it dawned on me that it might be unusual that they were asking these particular questions."

 Lee said he wasn't impressed with their crop-dusting knowledge.

 "From what I got, none of these people were good enough to fly these planes," he said. "It's not easy to start. You can blow the things up right on the ground. It takes some schooling. You just don't get in there and flip a switch and start the thing up."

 Belle Glade Police Chief Michael Miller said the FBI had made inquiries about the airport but declined to elaborate.

 In a related development, investigators have discovered a manual on crop-dusters kept by Zacarias Moussouai, a man with alleged links to Osama bin Laden who was detained in August in Minnesota after he sought training at a flight school.

 It was too much of a coincidence, authorities said.

 "The intelligence community came to us and encouraged us to shut down the crop-dusters," FAA spokesman Scott Brenner said.

 Investigators also have issued warnings to the trucking industry to watch for any suspicious activity involving the hauling of chemicals, radioactive waste, biological agents and other hazardous materials.

 The FBI "has received information on numerous terrorist threats regarding potential use of chemical, biological and/or radiological/nuclear WMD" -- weapons of mass destruction -- according to an alert issued Thursday by the American Trucking Association.

 The FBI last week arrested a former Boston cabdriver, Nabil Almarabh, who had financial ties to some hijackers and had recently secured a Michigan license to haul hazardous materials such as dynamite, gases and toxic and radioactive waste. Two men arrested in Almarabh's former Detroit home had licenses to drive commercial trucks, officials said.

 "We're trying to exercise an abundance of caution," one FBI official said. "We're not downplaying anything. Anytime we get a suspicious report or circumstances, we are trying to ask people to be on the lookout."

 James Callen, executive director of the National Agricultural Aviation Association, said the nation's 4,000 crop-dusting planes, which also are used to combat fires and mosquitoes, usually hold 300 to 800 gallons of chemicals. Crop-duster pilots must obtain small-plane commercial licenses and special training for agricultural aviation, Callen said.

 Callen said the FBI and FAA have not informed the group of any specific reason for the grounding orders. He said there have been no confirmed reports of stolen planes or chemicals in recent weeks.
 

[mommadooo3]

So they grounded cropdusters for 30 major cities. Is that a guarantee that the terrorists wouldn't go to smaller towns and cities?

[VeritatisSplendor]

I hope that any Muslim who might be inclined to overlook suspicious behavior in a fellow Muslim realizes that like the rest of us he and his children will die in agony in the event of a bio-chemical attack.

Or who knows, they may go after the heartland this time and stay well away from cities with a substantial Arab presence.

I HATE thinking like this. But if only one in a thousand immigrants, students, visitors, is a terrorists, and one in a hundred would shelter or overlook him, that's a lot of terrorists. And a lot of good people, I know, tarred with that brush. Saudis in camps and Afghans in caves are a lot less of a threat than the ones among us.

So we put a freeze on Palestinian visas. Very impressive. Egypt, Sudan, Yemen, come on in. All here, keep your places.

Mrs VS

[Mamzelle]

Could be. It could also be possible that prior to the WTC attack, the operatives were ordered to make themselves obvious in other threatening ways, to leave a post-mortem terror trail. In sum, a psychological attack, to emerge post-catastrophe when they were investigated. Why else would they leave so much mocking evidence behind?

I could be giving them too much credit, but they did manage to kill almost 7000 with a set of box cutters.

[MizSterious]

Is that even a guarantee they won't fly to the 30 major cities? From what I know of crop dusting, they can fly very low--I watch them around here when they work. They're just about at weed-level! What radar would pick that up, if someone bought a plane and took off from an obscure field somewhere? This crop duster angle is definitely not good news for anyone.

[boris]

"We the people of the USA should demand the our government immediatly deport all illegal immigrants from the Middle East, and put a moratorium on all visas, including student visas from those countries!"

Yes, but we won't. We're still mesmerized by "tolerance"...until our cities begin dying, one by one. Then it will be--and perhaps already is--far too late.

--Boris

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

I'm still glad that Neal Boortz and others complained about an imposition on their constitutional rights regarding general aviation. While I never personally dissented about the temporary measure and assumed Bush had a good reason, we must never be so unified that we ever completely surrender our freedom for a minute without dissent.

[mommadooo3]

You're right. And if people stop to THINK they'd realize you're right. But the fbi seems to think THEY are right and have nipped the cropduster threat, in the bud.

I've decided to pass along alerts to people/places in my area. We live in a backwoods type area. There are lots of farmers, and cropdusting planes. Word of mouth seems to be the order of the day. LOL...I have 'targeted' my local farmers' co-op/grainery, our farrier, school, and groceries. I'm trying to get the 'courage' up to 'chat' with the local sheriff.

[GingisK]

Chemical and biological weapons require a significant research/development/manufacturing infrastructure.

Compared to any other weapon, this is simply not true.

[The_Victor]

Compared to any other weapon, this is simply not true.

How do you figure? Biological weapons have to be cultured, and its not like you can purchase the agent on the open market. Anthrax is not easy to grow: it requires tight environmental control to get significant yield (enough to make a weapon). Chemical weapons must be manufactured in a processing plant. Mustard gas and other blistering agents, although chemically simple, require a processing plant to yield enough to make a weapon.

A gasoline (call it napalm) bomb requires... well… gasoline.

[GingisK]

Biological weapons have to be cultured, and its not like you can purchase the agent on the open market

Glassware full of a substance to feed the critters is all that is needed. Biology texts provide more than just clues to this. Simple observations under a microscope allow process tuning. Temperature and pressure controls are extremely simple; and, can be excercised by humans using simple gauges and valves. A starter culture can be obtained from a sick critter or human. There are plenty of sick critters and humans in third world countries where inoculations are not commonplace. Strength of the biological agent is increased by taking a culture from an entity that was killed with the preceding strain.

Chemical weapons must be manufactured in a processing plant

Such plant is a great deal easier to build than a steel mill. Biological agents could be cultured in a plant that is easier to build than a steel mill.

Mustard gas and other blistering agents, although chemically simple, require a processing plant to yield enough to make a weapon.

What was the state of industry during WWI? Probably not much more advanced than might be found in any country with electric power. Quanity is "production rate" integrated over time.

The resources of a nation can be coordinated to some astounding results, even in relatively "primative" situations. The resolve of an enemy can usually overcome most anything. By consulting the CIA web page regarding Afghanistan, one can determine that they do have some resources. They also have money. Remember that Afghanistan is not the only nation that houses our enemies.

[GingisK]

Anthrax is not easy to grow

http://rense.com/political/weapons/newwarn.htm

I'll dredge up some more sites that indicate the reasonable fear of bio-terrorism. There are oodles of them.

[The_Victor]

My whole point was not that it is impossible to get or create the bio or chem weapons, but your response details the problems involved. An environmental control system for cultivating anthrax is (as you point out) not simple. A mustard gas plant (even WWI vintage) is still a chemical processing plant. These terrorists were going for simple (boxcutters and airline tickets). These other methods are going to raise suspicions, without an increase in the amount of damage done. Occum's Razor applies.

[The_Victor]

Everything that your detailing here goes back to my original stament, and your making the point for me...

Chemical and biological weapons require a significant research/development/manufacturing infrastructure.