Free Republic

"If a dry run is occurring, the attack will shortly follow." That's according to Wolf Koch, a Boeing 767 pilot for Delta Airlines and an official at the Air Line Pilots Association International, who was discussing common terrorist tactics in the run-up to devastating attacks like those on 9/11. That is an extremely worrying thought given a memo leaked this week from the U.S. Airline Pilots Association, which warns of "several cases recently…of what appear to be probes, or dry runs" of such attacks.

"Credible Security Risk" Those are the words of the pilot on Delta Flight 1824 out of OIA, after it pulled back from the gate Friday morning to take off for Atlanta. Nine Middle Eastern passengers, six males and three females, had been denied access to the plane when TSA screeners found they were carrying an array of suspicious items ranging from hydrogen peroxide, which can be used to make bombs, to wires and Vaseline bottles taped together. Perhaps most disturbing, what one TSA worker tells me were the first positive tests for SEMTEX ever reported by security at OIA. SEMTEX...

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A man arrested near Orlando International Airport on Tuesday night is a JetBlue Airways employee who planned to smuggle guns to Puerto Rico, according to officials. Hiram Rivera Ortiz, 34, was arrested at about 6 p.m. at a Denny's located on Semoran Boulevard about a mile from Orlando International Airport in a sting operation. Ortiz accepted four handguns and two machine guns from undercover agents and agreed to transport the weapons to Puerto Rico for about $5,000, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms officials said. Ortiz was ordered held without bail in Orlando. He is scheduled...

An airline employee at Orlando International Airport used his security privileges Monday to sneak a duffel bag containing 13 handguns, an assault rifle and 8 pounds of marijuana aboard a Delta flight to San Juan. Puerto Rico police arrested Thomas Anthony Munoz, 22, of Kissimmee and confiscated the weapons after he walked off Delta Air Lines Flight 933 on Monday afternoon, carrying a bagful of weapons. It was unclear Tuesday night precisely who notified Puerto Rico authorities at Luis Munoz Marin International Airport near the capital of San Juan, but it's possible that Munoz's arrest was part of a larger...

Agents Discover Illegal Shipment Of Brass Knuckles POSTED: 10:25 pm EDT April 10, 2006 UPDATED: 12:39 pm EDT April 11, 2006 ORLANDO, Fla. -- Police have not yet issued any charges in connection with the discovery of thousands of illegal weapons meant for distribution in Central Florida. Customs agents alerted Orlando police when they intercepted a shipping container at Orlando International Airport. Inside, they found more than 14,000 brass knuckles. The weapons were hidden in boxes labeled "belt buckles." Authorities said a closer look revealed a little nub that might be used to adjust the size of a belt, but...

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Florida's busiest airport will begin using high-tech iris-scanning technology to filter out possible terrorists and add an additional layer of security, according to Local 6 News. People at Orlando International Airport will have both irises scanned at special computers to determine their identity. "This will be an additional layer of information that is enrolled, which will be biometric information," OIA director of security Brigitte Rivera Goersch said. "Employees irises will be enrolled for the additional layer of security." The Airport Access Control Pilot Program or AACPP is a first of its kind, according to the report. A...

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A few bribes spread around Orlando International Airport demonstrate how hundreds of U.S. airports remain vulnerable to possible hijacking or bombing of commercial jets. Undercover agents arrested six people August 21st, including five current or former baggage handlers, on charges of sneaking drugs or guns past screeners and onto flights. It was so easy that a baggage handler earning $240 a week delivered two duffel bags in two days to departure gates without them being checked. Each time, he was told the bag contained 25 pounds of marijuana, a Drug Enforcement Administration agent testified last week. All...

The FBI and Orlando Police have confirmed 3 Middle Eastern men were detained last week trying to board a flight at Orlando International Airport. In an exclusive story, 540 WFLA Melissa Hellervik has learned, as they were checking in for a flight to Oman at the ticket counter the name of one of the men appeared on a computerized "do-not-fly" list compiled by the Transportation Security Administration. All 3 men were placed into the custody of a federal agent. A spokeswoman from the FBI told Newsradio 540 WFLA they will not comment with any details, because the 3 are continuing...

Total Information Awareness (TIA) Introduction | News | ResourcesLatest News Total Cost of TIA: $245 Million in FY 2001-2003. Contrary to a statement of a Defense Department spokesperson that the TIA budget is $10 million, DARPA documents show that it is $245 million for fiscal years 2001-2003. The TIA system, in fact, consists of several related programs unaccounted for by the official. The budget states that: "The primary goal of TIA is the assured transition of a system-level prototype that integrates technology and components developed in other DARPA programs including Genoa, Genoa-II, TIDES, Genisys, EELD, WAE, HID, and Bio-Surveillance."...