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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.