Travel News
False Terror Threats Abound on the 10-Year 9/11 Anniversary
With New York and Washington, D.C on a heightened terror alert for the 10-year anniversary of 9/11, army fighter jets, the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and local law enforcement responded to suspicious behavior on flights and on the ground.
Last week intelligence investigations exposed credible but unconfirmed information about possible terrorist plots. According to reports, vehicles triggered with explosives were thought to be targeting subways, tunnels and bridges around Manhattan. Subways and commuter trains in Washington, D.C. were also identified as targets. Intelligence reports led officials to believe the threat may be linked to al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri. Given the elevated terror level, it’s easy to see why officials treated all forms of suspicious behavior as a credible threat.
Credit: UNC - CFC - USFK via Flickr
On Sunday, two F-16 fighter jets escorted an American Airlines flight into New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport after three passengers locked themselves in the bathroom and refused to come out. Starting 100 miles west of New York, the jets from the North American Aerospace Defense Command intercepted the flight and shadowed it until landing as a precautionary measure. While the FBI and the TSA are conducting a full investigation, the passenger’s behavior is not thought to be terrorist-related. In fact, American Airlines spokesperson Tim Smith described the event at as “a big nothing.”
F-16 jets also shadowed a Frontier Airlines Flight from Denver as it landed safely in the Detroit Metro Airport. Again, two passengers were seen spending and inordinately long time in the bathroom. Later reports confirm that the suspicious behavior was just two passengers making out. Upon landing, the plane was swept and determined to be free of explosives. The FBI questioned three passengers over the incident, but no arrests were made.
The in-air paranoia began on September 10 when a security threat diverted a Baltimore-bound Southwest Airlines flight to Nashville. Suspicious but not disruptive passenger behavior caused the unscheduled landing. The flight originated in Albuquerque on Saturday morning and landed in Nashville at 1:10 pm, where passengers were ordered off the plane, sent back through security, and the plan was swept for explosive before taking off again for Baltimore at 3:55 pm. It was not confirmed whether the passenger that incited the incident was onboard for the last leg of the journey.
There were additional terror threats on the ground at several airports. First, on Saturday September 10, police and airport officials also evacuated several gates of Dulles International Airport after suspicious boxes were found on a cargo pallet. Detection dogs and bomb technicians assessed the boxes in the cargo area to determine there was nothing harmful inside. The hours-long evacuation delayed two outbound flights.
Then on Sunday, part of Kansas City International Airport was shut down after police discovered a suspicious device while screening a carry-on bag. The bag’s owner refused to be searched prompting federal agents in Missouri to evacuate the Southwest Airlines screening area. After no explosive materials were found, the airport was fully reopened.
Local and federal authorities were also policing the roads following several threats. In Massachusetts on Sunday, police tried to track down a Penske truck after receiving a report that men were loading 55-gallon drums into the truck. The vehicle was last spotted Saturday night on the 600 block of Columbus Avenue in Boston’s South End. Yesterday Boston police stopped and checked similar trucks but failed to turn up anything suspicious.
The FBI is also investigating the hacking of the NBC News Twitter account. On Friday, hackers posted false information about terrorist activity, claiming that a civilian airliner was hijacked and crashed into Ground Zero. The stream of tweets read, “Breaking News! Ground Zero has just been attacked. Flight 5736 has crashed into the site, suspected hijacking. more as the story develops.” Then four minutes later hackers tweeted “Flight 4782 is not responding, suspected hijacking. One plane just hit Ground Zero site at 5:47.” Three minutes another tweet went out: “This is not a joke. Ground Zero has just been attacked. We’re attempting to get reporters on the scene.” Seconds later the final message read “NBCNEWS hacked by The Script Kiddies.”
By Lily J. Kosner for PeterGreenberg.com
Related links: Huffington Post, Huffington Post, CNN.com, Daily Mail UK, MSNBC, Reuters, Los Angeles Times, ABC News
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