Men Flee After Airport Photos (UPDATE on ATL Airport w/tag no. & description)

WXIA/Atlanta - 11 Alive News ^ | 6.22.02 | Joel Thomas

[AnAmericanMother]

Yup, that's the place. Is that from AirNav? Sure beats thumbing through a dog eared copy of the AOPA Airport Guide (although that's quicker in the cockpit!)

In the photo, you're looking a little bit south of east, and that's downtown Atlanta in the hazy distance. The Chattahoochee River is right under your feet. Straight ahead is the most active runway, 9R. They have changed the designation to 8, probably a good idea in view of the existence of the former 9 LEFT, which is that short narrow strip to the far left that looks like a short taxiway to nowhere. In point of fact, I was there the day that a couple of cowboys from the Brazilian Air Force were instructed to "Land 9 Right", didn't see 9 Left, and proceeded to land on the taxiway to the immediate right of 9 Right . . . scattering Cessnas and Beechcrafts into the grass . . . fortunately it was early and I was still preflighting on the line, so I got a ringside seat without having to get mud on my wheels . . . :-D

I see that the "suspicious" photogs have surfaced. I wonder if they really "sped off" . . . the driver just may have a heavy foot, and they may have had no idea the police were interested in them. But only an airport/private aircraft nut could have the slightest interest in this little field (people fly out of here because PDK is "too crowded" . . . that's Peachtree DeKalb on the other side of town . . . almost all the exec. jets &c. fly out of PDK and it can get awfully busy on weekends, you can sit idling waiting for a clearance for what seems like a very long time. I also don't like PDK because of the number of large but inconspicuous radio masts in the area. Not to mention the former county dump, which tended to attract birds. There was a bad fatal caused by birds from the dump years ago. I notice that FTY now has a notice about birds . . . there is a landfill several miles away off the Bankhead Highway . . . but PDK no longer has the notice. Guess they closed the dump. Good idea.)

[Vigilantcitizen]

The Governor's plane is at Charlie Brown.

[Grampa Dave]

You posted, "My Father-In-Law recently purchased a Fire Engine Red Pinto Woody Wagon with a red interior. It's in great shape! The thing is so stupid looking, it's cool . . .

Has your FIL shown any other actions that might be called irrational by the rest of America? There may be a 12 Step, Pinto Withdrawal Program near by to his home. If so you might want to drive him to and from the meetings.

[OldPossum]

What's with all the talk about carburetors. Stick to the subject, for goodness sakes! Were these potential terrorists or not?

[Grampa Dave]

How do we know if they were potential terrorists?

You can ask the four people that I pinged here about how serious I can be when we get some hard data about home grown terrorists.

The most effective people in life often have two attributes. They know when to be serious and when some humor is needed.

[mhking]

Were these potential terrorists or not?

Not.

---

Men photographing planes not terrorists

By BILL MONTGOMERY
Atlanta Journal-Constitution Staff Writer

Those were no terrorists taking pictures of small aircraft at Fulton County's Charlie Brown Field Thursday evening, just a trio of airline workers from New Zealand on a busman's holiday.

Fulton County police had put out an alert for two men in a tan PT Cruiser with Canadian license plates seen by employees at Raytheon Aircraft Services, who told police the men fled when they were approached.

"It turns out they saw this report on the TV news last night, and said, 'Wait a minute, that might be us,' " said Lt. Darryl Halbert of the Fulton County Police Department. The three men -- Wayne Grant, Michael Bruce Davison, and Mark Ijsselldijk -- approached a Clayton County sheriff's deputy working an extra job at a Riverdale motel and told him police might be looking for them, said Fulton police Detective S.K. Brown.

The men were interviewed by detectives and the FBI Friday night; "after satisfying law enforcement authorities, they were released," Halbert said.

The FBI referred all comment Saturday afternoon on the incident to the Fulton police.

"They said they travel all over the world taking pictures of airplanes," Halbert said. "Our detectives asked them why did they take off, and they said nobody approached them."

"They said they saw some guy and waved at him, but that's all, they didn't think anything of it."

Halbert did not know the name of their employers nor where in New Zealand they were from. "They are all employees of the airline industry in New Zealand and they travel around the world photographing airplanes," Halbert said.

The three were on their way to Charlotte, Brown said.

"Because they work for the airlines, they get free flights and fly all over the world and take pictures of airplanes," Brown said. "That's just what they do."

[OldPossum]

My post had nothing to do with a) humor (talking about carburetors is beside the point on a post like this) or b) seriousness (I saw no hard evidence that the original post had anything that police could work on).

[Orion]

Since when is it illegal to take pictures of aircraft?

It isn't. That's my point.

[Orion]

I think we are on the same sheet of music, my friend.

My point is the entire Consititution is being disregarded for political expediency.

The IRS laws violate most of the Bill of Rights, as you pointed out. Our whole "combatant" status for naughty US citizens, stands the 4th, 5th, 6th, and 8th Amendments on their heads.

I totally agree with your analysis of Byrd.

CFR gutted the 1st Amendment, The Patriot Act the 4th, and there are a plethora of laws which are against the 2nd.

Find for me, ONE 4 year period in the last 80 where we abide by any significant portion of the BoR.

I just saw on the news that a Houston bookie is being tried for murder, after the State of Texas aquitted him. Different soverigns, you see. If you can't get a murder conviction in Houston, you are too stupid to live.

My point with most of this is GWB is no better than his predecessors with defending the Constitution. We will see more evidence of this as his administration grinds on. The GOP is nothing more than a bunch of cheap liberals; and not very cheap at that.

If you are of the opinion that the GOP is going to save America (and I'm not saying that you are), please cite for me how the GOP has taken any meaningful steps toward a constitutional republic and away from a social democracy.

$500m for African AIDS victims, $100m for African education, 6m gov't backed homes for non-white Americans, CFR, PA, and on and on and on....

[Orion]

The most likely story concerning these guys was:

they were amateur aviation buffs, and were out scrapbooking.

I guess I'll have to bear the burden of the one who is always right. (/humble sarcasm)

FReep on,
-Orion (documented almost always correct, 97.7%)

[Orion]

Name one just one of the amendments to the US Constitution that has been shredded?

1st - CFR, No praying on public property in the vicinity of an abortion mill...

2nd - Brady bill, and the other 20,000 laws.

4th - Patriot Act, IRS, Carnivore, War on Drugs...

5th - Padilla, Feds trying cases aquitted in state courts (2002 Houston bookie TX, 1992 LAPD/R. King CA), IRS, asset forfieture, War on Drugs...

6th - Padilla, cases where the accuser is a minor, IRS...

8th - War on Drugs...

9th - Every day in this country. 10th - 90% of federal spending, 99% of federal law

14th - Affirmative action

15th - Affirmative action

[Publius6961]

Hey. I'm tired of this Pinto-trashing.
One of the best cars I ever owned was a Pinto, and I don't remember slowing anybody down...
That little sucker might still be running if my ex-wife did not insist on her "right of way".

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

I once had a Fiat , they are even more underpowered than a Pinto.

(But I was a poor Grad Student , had no money and no sense either!

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

GP is always very serious but always has a humorous side also!

See the JIHAD IN AMERICA articles.

[AnAmericanMother]

Then Roy has more sense than I thought. :D

[ClancyJ]

I say round up all white males between 30 and 40, accuse them of an unusual interest in aviation, receiving training in fleeing the scene of a non-crime, strip them of their citizenship, and hold them until this undefined, undeclared war is over.

I agree. About time we got serious about this terrorist stuff.