NBC is attempting to demonstrate vulnerability of GA airports

[Corky Scott]

The following was sent to me by our local EAA chapter. Please forward
it to those who need to know.

Corky Scott


Subject: [NBAA-avmgr] Attempted Security Breach at St. Louis Downtown
Airport
Date: Thu, 12 Aug 2004 14:21:04 -0400


The American Association of Airport Executives sent a security notice
to its members August 11 that described an attempted GA facility
breach by a network news agency.

In an effort to show allegedly lax security procedures, NBC News
attempted to penetrate a charter helicopter operation at St. Louis
Downtown Airport. The attempt was thwarted and the individuals were
apprehended.

Though this breach of security was stopped, NBC and other news
agencies may attempt to repeat their efforts at other facilities
around the country. Operators must continue to be vigilant against
security breaches by news agencies "testing the waters" and, more
importantly, actual terrorist organizations or individuals intent on
doing harm.

Operators everywhere are reminded to review their security procedures
and reinforce their security policies. NBAA Members should review the
TSA's Security Guidelines for General Aviation Airports
(http://www.tsa.gov/public/interapp/editorial/editorial_1113.xml) and
NBAA's Best Practices for Business Aviation Security
(http://web.nbaa.org/public/ops/security/bestpractices/). Any
suspicious activity should be reported immediately to the Airport
Watch Hotline at (866) GA SECURE.

See below for an account of the August 11 incident provided by the
director of the St. Louis Downtown Airport.

Regards,

Berty Damato
NBAA Operations Service Group
__________________________________________

"Earlier today two Middle Eastern men attempted to penetrate our
security. They telephoned one of my helicopter FBOs and asked about a
charter flight. After discussion of price and directions to the
business, they arrived an hour later. When the office agent asked how
they were going to pay for the flight they produced cash. When asked
for ID, they produced driver's licenses from two different states and
they were driving a car licensed in a third state.

Things didn't smell right so the mechanic took them into the hangar to
see the aircraft while the office person called the FBI and local
police. The helicopter they were going to fly was blocked in by other
aircraft so the mechanic was able to stall them by having to slowly
shuffle the blocking planes. Meanwhile the two men got their
backpacks and odd-shaped luggage out of their car. Soon the local
police arrived and they were hauled off to jail in handcuffs.

After a little time behind bars, the FBI verified that the two men
were employed by NBC New York and were on assignment to get a story of
how easy it is to charter a helicopter for a terrorist attack. The
men had stayed in a local hotel and purchased box cutters, leather-man
knives, and other potential weapons at the local Wal-Mart using a
credit card. The box cutters had been hidden in the lining at the
bottom of the back packs and the other weapons were hidden throughout
their baggage. They had audiotaped the telephone conversation with
Arlene and were going to use it as part of a national news story about
how easy it is to get information and directions to the location of
the helicopter and then hijack it to commit a terrorist attack.

I doubt they will be back at our airport soon and this is a story that
will never be seen since they were caught. A very "well-done" to my
FBO and staff and the local FBI and police response forces. We have
since learned that we were the first airport where this had been
attempted and NBC planned to attempt similar penetration stories
around the country. Please help me spread the word to other
airports."

[Marco Leon]

Any legal beagles out there care to comment on if these guys can be
prosecuted for anything even though they were hired by NBC? This stuff
really ****es me off--escpecially since we KNOW NBC won't air a story about
how WELL this FBO did in averting an apparent terrorist strike.

Marco


"Corky Scott" > wrote in message
...
> The following was sent to me by our local EAA chapter. Please forward
> it to those who need to know.
>
> Corky Scott
>
>
> Subject: [NBAA-avmgr] Attempted Security Breach at St. Louis Downtown
> Airport
> Date: Thu, 12 Aug 2004 14:21:04 -0400
>
>
> The American Association of Airport Executives sent a security notice
> to its members August 11 that described an attempted GA facility
> breach by a network news agency.
>
> In an effort to show allegedly lax security procedures, NBC News
> attempted to penetrate a charter helicopter operation at St. Louis
> Downtown Airport. The attempt was thwarted and the individuals were
> apprehended.
>
> Though this breach of security was stopped, NBC and other news
> agencies may attempt to repeat their efforts at other facilities
> around the country. Operators must continue to be vigilant against
> security breaches by news agencies "testing the waters" and, more
> importantly, actual terrorist organizations or individuals intent on
> doing harm.
>
> Operators everywhere are reminded to review their security procedures
> and reinforce their security policies. NBAA Members should review the
> TSA's Security Guidelines for General Aviation Airports
> (http://www.tsa.gov/public/interapp/editorial/editorial_1113.xml) and
> NBAA's Best Practices for Business Aviation Security
> (http://web.nbaa.org/public/ops/security/bestpractices/). Any
> suspicious activity should be reported immediately to the Airport
> Watch Hotline at (866) GA SECURE.
>
> See below for an account of the August 11 incident provided by the
> director of the St. Louis Downtown Airport.
>
> Regards,
>
> Berty Damato
> NBAA Operations Service Group
> __________________________________________
>
> "Earlier today two Middle Eastern men attempted to penetrate our
> security. They telephoned one of my helicopter FBOs and asked about a
> charter flight. After discussion of price and directions to the
> business, they arrived an hour later. When the office agent asked how
> they were going to pay for the flight they produced cash. When asked
> for ID, they produced driver's licenses from two different states and
> they were driving a car licensed in a third state.
>
> Things didn't smell right so the mechanic took them into the hangar to
> see the aircraft while the office person called the FBI and local
> police. The helicopter they were going to fly was blocked in by other
> aircraft so the mechanic was able to stall them by having to slowly
> shuffle the blocking planes. Meanwhile the two men got their
> backpacks and odd-shaped luggage out of their car. Soon the local
> police arrived and they were hauled off to jail in handcuffs.
>
> After a little time behind bars, the FBI verified that the two men
> were employed by NBC New York and were on assignment to get a story of
> how easy it is to charter a helicopter for a terrorist attack. The
> men had stayed in a local hotel and purchased box cutters, leather-man
> knives, and other potential weapons at the local Wal-Mart using a
> credit card. The box cutters had been hidden in the lining at the
> bottom of the back packs and the other weapons were hidden throughout
> their baggage. They had audiotaped the telephone conversation with
> Arlene and were going to use it as part of a national news story about
> how easy it is to get information and directions to the location of
> the helicopter and then hijack it to commit a terrorist attack.
>
> I doubt they will be back at our airport soon and this is a story that
> will never be seen since they were caught. A very "well-done" to my
> FBO and staff and the local FBI and police response forces. We have
> since learned that we were the first airport where this had been
> attempted and NBC planned to attempt similar penetration stories
> around the country. Please help me spread the word to other
> airports."
>

[Blanche]

Isn't this the same type of action one of the networks (NBC?) tried a
few years ago concerning chickens at a grocery chain?

[G.R. Patterson III]

Marco Leon wrote:
>
> -- escpecially since we KNOW NBC won't air a story about
> how WELL this FBO did in averting an apparent terrorist strike.

Actually they did do that. Check the last paragraph of the story on AOPA's home page.

George Patterson
If you want to know God's opinion of money, just look at the people
he gives it to.

[Jenna]

Gary Drescher wrote:

> "Mike" > wrote in message
> hlink.net...
> > HOWEVER...unless the reporters informed the employee of the FBO that they
> > were taping the telephone conversation, they would appear to be guilty of
> > conducting an unlawful wiretap - a Federal offense (they failed to mention
> > the wiretap in the story).
>
> Are you sure? According to the RCFP, "The federal wiretap law, passed in
> 1968, permits surreptitious recording of conversations when one party
> consents, 'unless such communication is intercepted for the purpose of
> committing any criminal or tortious act in violation of the Constitution or
> laws of the United States or of any State.'" They cite 18 U.S.C. § 2510 et
> seq. (1999) (Wire and Electronic Communications Interception and
> Interception of Oral Communications).

There are numerous statues concerning wiretaps. Generally, for federal
purposes, if one party of the conversation (e.g. the caller) has given consent,
recording is ok.

Some states have statues that require all parties to give consent to recording.

[Gary Drescher]

"Jenna" > wrote in message ...
> Some states have statues that require all parties to give consent to
> recording.

Yup, but not Missouri.

[Fed Up w/Liberal Media]

Ya know, Middle Eastern-looking men just can't seem to get any respect
around airports anymore these days... <g>

I kinda wish the law would throw the book at the two reporters for
attempting to smuggle weapons aboard a charter aircraft, regardless of
their actual intent, exactly the same way as if they would have been
attempting to bring the weapons into the passenger boarding area of a
big airport to stupidly try to "test the security" there.

[Gary Drescher]

"Fed Up w/Liberal Media" > wrote in message
...
> I kinda wish the law would throw the book at the two reporters for
> attempting to smuggle weapons aboard a charter aircraft,

Is there a law against bringing sharp tools aboard a charter aircraft?

--Gary

[Ben Smith]

Completely OT from Piloting...

I was Googling for some more information about that airport, and came across
this very interesting virtual tour of East St. Louis:

http://www.builtstlouis.net/eaststlouis/eaststl00.html

--
Ben
C-172 - N13258 @ 87Y

[C J Campbell]

"Gary Drescher" > wrote in message
news:mV1Tc.300358$XM6.41084@attbi_s53...
> "Fed Up w/Liberal Media" > wrote in message
> ...
> > I kinda wish the law would throw the book at the two reporters for
> > attempting to smuggle weapons aboard a charter aircraft,
>
> Is there a law against bringing sharp tools aboard a charter aircraft?

Of course not.

[C J Campbell]

The whole thing seems incredibly dangerous to me. What if they start pulling
out their weapons and making threatening movements during the flight? A
pilot might kill them first and ask questions later.

[Hilton]

C J Campbell wrote:
> The whole thing seems incredibly dangerous to me. What if they start
pulling
> out their weapons and making threatening movements during the flight? A
> pilot might kill them first and ask questions later.

Or get distracted, crash, and have NBC run a program on how GA killed two of
theirs, small planes are dangerous, etc etc etc...

Hilton

[C J Campbell]

"Hilton" > wrote in message
link.net...
> C J Campbell wrote:
> > The whole thing seems incredibly dangerous to me. What if they start
> pulling
> > out their weapons and making threatening movements during the flight? A
> > pilot might kill them first and ask questions later.
>
> Or get distracted, crash, and have NBC run a program on how GA killed two
of
> theirs, small planes are dangerous, etc etc etc...

I would destroy an airplane before letting a terrorist have it. If I crashed
under such circumstances it would be deliberate. I would attempt to make
sure that ATC knew what was going on and I might attempt to make the crash
survivable, but those would be secondary priorities. There being no way to
tell the difference between reporters acting like terrorists and terrorists
claiming to be reporters, I would assume that they might say anything or
produce any kind of supposed documentation if their lives were threatened.
Kill them first, I say, and let NBC explain things later if turns out their
guys were real.

Just like an NBC reporter to bring a Leatherman to a gunfight. :-)

Honestly, though, it bothers me that so many pilots seem to think that a
moment's distraction is enough to cause you to lose control of an airplane.
What kind of pilot skill is that?

[Allen]

"C J Campbell" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Hilton" > wrote in message
> link.net...
> > C J Campbell wrote:
> > > The whole thing seems incredibly dangerous to me. What if they start
> > pulling
> > > out their weapons and making threatening movements during the flight?
A
> > > pilot might kill them first and ask questions later.
> >
> > Or get distracted, crash, and have NBC run a program on how GA killed
two
> of
> > theirs, small planes are dangerous, etc etc etc...
>
> I would destroy an airplane before letting a terrorist have it. If I
crashed
> under such circumstances it would be deliberate. I would attempt to make
> sure that ATC knew what was going on and I might attempt to make the crash
> survivable, but those would be secondary priorities. There being no way to
> tell the difference between reporters acting like terrorists and
terrorists
> claiming to be reporters, I would assume that they might say anything or
> produce any kind of supposed documentation if their lives were threatened.
> Kill them first, I say, and let NBC explain things later if turns out
their
> guys were real.


I would say a reporter ACTING like a terrorist IS a terrorist and should be
dealt with accordingly. At some point it is to late to say "Uh, just
kidding".

Allen

[Mark]

I don't know what they are teaching these news reporters in college
now days, but I suspect that all programs follow the same, dull
agenda. The recipe is as follows....

1) Find a hot/controversial topic in the public eye.
2) Send the most clueless reporter out into the field to "stir the
pot"
3) If the story does not go your way (or the way you expect), skew the
interview till it does.
4) At the end of the report, state that "News channel XXX ‘on your
side' will continue to cover this story for the good of the community"

About 20 years ago when the Delta airline plane crashed due to
windshier in DFW, I worked at our local airport cleaning planes at
night. This particular night we noticed a news truck at the local FBO
and went over to see what was happening. Well, the only person at
night at the FBO was the local redneck that sold fuel. This guy
dropped out of the 8th grade and only had a few teeth in his mouth
(hence why he worked night shift). Well, the local news channel sent a
young reporter out to "get the scoop" and this guy was the only one
they found. The live news report went something like this…

Reporter: So, we are talking to Daryl. He's a pilot for Corporate
Air. Daryl, in your opinion what happened this evening at DFW?

Daryl: Well, I've been watching the same news coverage you have and
I've been praying for the people on that aircraft.

Reporter: In your career, have you ever encountered similar weather
conditions that existed at the time of landing at DFW?

Daryl: No, I've never been that far away from here. However I have
seen a few storms that would not be good to fly through.

Reporter: So weather is likely the cause of this crash?

Daryl: Well, the FAA has some good people and I'm sure they will find
out what happened.

I was amazed at how obvious it was that Daryl had NO idea what
happened and clearly he is NOT a pilot. Afterwards I talked to Daryl
and he said that they showed up at the airport about 15 minutes before
the local news went on the air and was asking to speak with a Pilot.
He told them no one was around and he was only the "night watchmen"
and was NOT a pilot. However they were going to make him a pilot
anyway since they did not have enough time to look elsewhere.

You might also notice that all news reporters follow the same
patterns.

Christmas – Go out to the local mall and interview shoppers and ask
them how crowded it is in the parking lot. Also, go to the airport and
show people standing in line at the ticket counter. Laugh a lot and
say Merry Christmas.

Thanksgiving – Interview a family sitting down to dinner and talk
about how much your going to eat. Show people feeding the homeless.
Laugh a lot.

The first snowfall of the year – Go to the local hardware store and
interview people buying snow shovels and salt. Or, go to the grocery
store and ask people what they are buying. Talk about spring. Tell
people to drive no faster than a walking pace. Laugh and throw a snow
ball at camera man.

Big rain storm – Go stand in a puddle near the road and give the road
conditions. Be sure to remind people to slow down to a crawl (also
good to do during a snowfall). Talk about sunny days.

Drought – Show people watering their lawns. Talk about rain. Laugh.

First warm day of spring – Go to the park and show people walking
their dogs. Talk about winter. Laugh.

First day of school – Show kids waiting at the bus stop. The day
before, show same kids shopping for school supplies. Talk about summer
vacation.

Airline crash – Go talk to people on the street about their fears of
flying. Show an aircraft landing or taking off at the local airport.
If small aircraft had an engine failure, be sure to use the phrase
"the engine quit and the plane fell out of the sky". Look somber.


Jezzz, I'm starting to sound like Andy Rooney.



Corky Scott > wrote in message >...

> "Earlier today two Middle Eastern men attempted to penetrate our
> security. They telephoned one of my helicopter FBOs and asked about a
> charter flight. After discussion of price and directions to the
> business, they arrived an hour later. When the office agent asked how
> they were going to pay for the flight they produced cash. When asked
> for ID, they produced driver's licenses from two different states and
> they were driving a car licensed in a third state.
>
> Things didn't smell right so the mechanic took them into the hangar to
> see the aircraft while the office person called the FBI and local
> police. The helicopter they were going to fly was blocked in by other
> aircraft so the mechanic was able to stall them by having to slowly
> shuffle the blocking planes. Meanwhile the two men got their
> backpacks and odd-shaped luggage out of their car. Soon the local
> police arrived and they were hauled off to jail in handcuffs.
>
> After a little time behind bars, the FBI verified that the two men
> were employed by NBC New York and were on assignment to get a story of
> how easy it is to charter a helicopter for a terrorist attack. The
> men had stayed in a local hotel and purchased box cutters, leather-man
> knives, and other potential weapons at the local Wal-Mart using a
> credit card. The box cutters had been hidden in the lining at the
> bottom of the back packs and the other weapons were hidden throughout
> their baggage. They had audiotaped the telephone conversation with
> Arlene and were going to use it as part of a national news story about
> how easy it is to get information and directions to the location of
> the helicopter and then hijack it to commit a terrorist attack.
>
> I doubt they will be back at our airport soon and this is a story that
> will never be seen since they were caught. A very "well-done" to my
> FBO and staff and the local FBI and police response forces. We have
> since learned that we were the first airport where this had been
> attempted and NBC planned to attempt similar penetration stories
> around the country. Please help me spread the word to other
> airports."

[gatt]

"Jenna" > wrote in message ...

> There are numerous statues concerning wiretaps. Generally, for federal
> purposes, if one party of the conversation (e.g. the caller) has given
consent,
> recording is ok.

This is true. It's very relevant to the Scott Peterson trial; in court and
on the news they've been playing tapped telephone conversations recorded for
the police by his mistress without his consent. The way I learned it in
journalism school, as long as one party consents the line can be tapped.

-c

[Rosspilot]

>If small aircraft had an engine failure, be sure to use the phrase
>"the engine quit and the plane fell out of the sky". Look somber.

No, no, no . . .

"The engine STALLED and the plane fell out of the sky"

Sheesh! <G>





www.Rosspilot.com

[Eric Pinnell]

On Thu, 12 Aug 2004 16:07:33 -0400, "Marco Leon"
<mleon(at)optonline.net> wrote:

>Any legal beagles out there care to comment on if these guys can be
>prosecuted for anything even though they were hired by NBC? This stuff
>really ****es me off--escpecially since we KNOW NBC won't air a story about
>how WELL this FBO did in averting an apparent terrorist strike.
>
>Marco

So, call up Fox, CBS and ABC and give them all the dirt on how their
rival channel screwed up. You think they wouldn't take the chance to
bash NBC?


Eric Pinnell

(Author, "Steel Rain", "Claws of The Dragon", "The Omega File")

For a preview, see: http://www.ericpinnell.com/books/previews.shtml

[Eric Pinnell]

On Fri, 13 Aug 2004 07:40:48 -0700, "C J Campbell"
> wrote:


>I would destroy an airplane before letting a terrorist have it. If I crashed
>under such circumstances it would be deliberate. I would attempt to make
>sure that ATC knew what was going on and I might attempt to make the crash
>survivable, but those would be secondary priorities. There being no way to
>tell the difference between reporters acting like terrorists and terrorists
>claiming to be reporters, I would assume that they might say anything or
>produce any kind of supposed documentation if their lives were threatened.
>Kill them first, I say, and let NBC explain things later if turns out their
>guys were real.
>
>Just like an NBC reporter to bring a Leatherman to a gunfight. :-)
>
>Honestly, though, it bothers me that so many pilots seem to think that a
>moment's distraction is enough to cause you to lose control of an airplane.
>What kind of pilot skill is that?

WTF is a terrorist going to do with a GA plane? If they were to seize
it, they'd have to land it somewhere and fill it with a bomb. By then,
ATC would be alerted and said plane would have a hard time going
anywhere.
Then again, this is an attempt to screw over GA by forcing private
pilots and their passengers to go through the insane TSA security.



Eric Pinnell

(Author, "Steel Rain", "Claws of The Dragon", "The Omega File")

For a preview, see: http://www.ericpinnell.com/books/previews.shtml

[Steve Foley]

The engine stalled because they didn't file a flight plan!!!!

"Rosspilot" > wrote in message
...
> >If small aircraft had an engine failure, be sure to use the phrase
> >"the engine quit and the plane fell out of the sky". Look somber.
>
> No, no, no . . .
>
> "The engine STALLED and the plane fell out of the sky"
>
> Sheesh! <G>
>
>
>
>
>
> www.Rosspilot.com
>
>

[Tom S.]

"Allen" > wrote in message
...
>
> "C J Campbell" > wrote in message
> ...
> >
> > "Hilton" > wrote in message
> > link.net...
> > > C J Campbell wrote:
> > > > The whole thing seems incredibly dangerous to me. What if they start
> > > pulling
> > > > out their weapons and making threatening movements during the
flight?
> A
> > > > pilot might kill them first and ask questions later.
> > >
> > > Or get distracted, crash, and have NBC run a program on how GA killed
> two
> > of
> > > theirs, small planes are dangerous, etc etc etc...
> >
> > I would destroy an airplane before letting a terrorist have it. If I
> crashed
> > under such circumstances it would be deliberate. I would attempt to make
> > sure that ATC knew what was going on and I might attempt to make the
crash
> > survivable, but those would be secondary priorities. There being no way
to
> > tell the difference between reporters acting like terrorists and
> terrorists
> > claiming to be reporters, I would assume that they might say anything or
> > produce any kind of supposed documentation if their lives were
threatened.
> > Kill them first, I say, and let NBC explain things later if turns out
> their
> > guys were real.
>
>
> I would say a reporter ACTING like a terrorist IS a terrorist and should
be
> dealt with accordingly. At some point it is to late to say "Uh, just
> kidding".
>
Much like committing an armed robbery with a fake or unloaded weapon is "no
excuse".

In the South you could just say "They needed killin'!".

[Tom S.]

"Mark" > wrote in message
om...
> I don't know what they are teaching these news reporters in college
> now days, but I suspect that all programs follow the same, dull
> agenda. The recipe is as follows....
>
> 1) Find a hot/controversial topic in the public eye.
> 2) Send the most clueless reporter out into the field to "stir the
> pot"
> 3) If the story does not go your way (or the way you expect), skew the
> interview till it does.
> 4) At the end of the report, state that "News channel XXX 'on your
> side' will continue to cover this story for the good of the community"
>
> About 20 years ago when the Delta airline plane crashed due to
> windshier in DFW, I worked at our local airport cleaning planes at
> night. This particular night we noticed a news truck at the local FBO
> and went over to see what was happening. Well, the only person at
> night at the FBO was the local redneck that sold fuel. This guy
> dropped out of the 8th grade and only had a few teeth in his mouth
> (hence why he worked night shift). Well, the local news channel sent a
> young reporter out to "get the scoop" and this guy was the only one
> they found. The live news report went something like this.
>
> Reporter: So, we are talking to Daryl. He's a pilot for Corporate
> Air. Daryl, in your opinion what happened this evening at DFW?
>
> Daryl: Well, I've been watching the same news coverage you have and
> I've been praying for the people on that aircraft.
>
> Reporter: In your career, have you ever encountered similar weather
> conditions that existed at the time of landing at DFW?
>
> Daryl: No, I've never been that far away from here. However I have
> seen a few storms that would not be good to fly through.
>
> Reporter: So weather is likely the cause of this crash?
>
> Daryl: Well, the FAA has some good people and I'm sure they will find
> out what happened.
>
> I was amazed at how obvious it was that Daryl had NO idea what
> happened and clearly he is NOT a pilot. Afterwards I talked to Daryl
> and he said that they showed up at the airport about 15 minutes before
> the local news went on the air and was asking to speak with a Pilot.
> He told them no one was around and he was only the "night watchmen"
> and was NOT a pilot. However they were going to make him a pilot
> anyway since they did not have enough time to look elsewhere.
>
Sounds like that "dumb redneck" had far more brains than those "college boy"
newspukes.

[Hilton]

C J Campbell wrote:
> Honestly, though, it bothers me that so many pilots seem to think that a
> moment's distraction is enough to cause you to lose control of an
airplane.
> What kind of pilot skill is that?

Me thinks you're trivializing one guy sitting right next to you, another
right behind you with his arm around your neck, both screaming and shouting
and holding knifes at your neck.

Hilton

[C J Campbell]

"Hilton" > wrote in message
link.net...
> C J Campbell wrote:
> > Honestly, though, it bothers me that so many pilots seem to think that a
> > moment's distraction is enough to cause you to lose control of an
> airplane.
> > What kind of pilot skill is that?
>
> Me thinks you're trivializing one guy sitting right next to you, another
> right behind you with his arm around your neck, both screaming and
shouting
> and holding knifes at your neck.

Well, if they are going to disable the pilot, that is a little more than
what I generally think of as a "distraction." Anyway, if things got that far
then the airplane might as well be allowed to destroy itself. You have to
figure that you're dead anyway.