[AgThorn]

How hard can it be to track the plane down? especially if it had call letters on it, which is a law isn't it?

I would assume that if I was getting sprayed, or saw this happening, that I would have written down the call letters and reported it to the authorities.

[RBurke]

The authorities said they are asking for anyone who might have seen the numbers/identifying letters to come forward--which means no-one got it during this incident.

The emergency manager said only the barge and small boat were sprayed. Does this sound like merely dumping harmless chemicals when someone is targeted?

The crew remains on Cipro, so officials think terrorism is a good possibility or they would not have taken that step.

The incubation period for something like smallpox is 2 weeks--this is pretty damn irresponsible to let that barge/crew go before we know more.

The John Hopkins link from the CDC states that the best way to use smallpox is by aerosol (akin to crop dusting).

They also state that evidence would remain on objects for only 6 hours before completely degrading if the temp was warm and the humidity was near 80%.(24 hours if weather was cooler). Check fridays weather report for that area. It was warm with high humidity.I wonder how long it took that barge to get back to port after this happened? I wonder how long it was until those samples were taken for testing?

Please remember there IS a missing crop dusting plane from Melborne Florida, a few weeks ago--never found.

[Darksheare]

How hard can it be to track the plane down? especially if it had call letters on it, which is a law isn't it?
Depends. In my area of the People's Democratic Workers' Paradise Republic of New York there is a guy that buzzes houses from tree-top level and has done it for years. He changes the color of the plane fairly often, and has no wing markings. He lands in Northern New Jersey and has yet to be caught for "barnstorming", which is illegal.
He also hasn't been busted for not having his i.d. numbers/letters on his plane. The only visible identifier I saw on this particular plane at any time in the past ten years were inch high letters on the tail surfaces. And that isn't even up to regs. So our law enforcement guys are going to have a fun time finding the clown(s) responsible if they don't have numbers to track. The only reason I know where my local clown comes from is that I saw where he lands.
Sidenote: I always wanted to build an Estes model rocket and launch it at him just to see what he'd do....