Feds Searching All Commercial Airplanes
Friday, October 17, 2003
Authorities are searching every commercial airplane in the United States on Friday after someone left three suspicious bags filled with claylike material, bleach and boxcutters on two Southwest Airlines (search) flights, officials told Fox News.
Whoever left the bags on planes in Houston and New Orleans left notes that said the writer was concerned about security on airplanes. It is unclear when the bags were left on the planes.
The federal Transportation Security Administration (search) has directed that all commercial aircraft be searched within 24 hours, according to Department of Homeland Security spokesman Brian Roehrkasse.
Roehrkasse said he does not believe the searches will cause delays as the searches will occur between flights.
The massive search comes a week after federal authorities issued a warning to law enforcement officials that terrorists may be poised for new attacks in the United States.
"Recent multiple reports indicate terrorists may be poised to conduct simultaneous attacks in the near term against U.S. interests in a number of venues overseas and possibly in the United States,'' the special edition bulletin stated.
Increased security on airlines has been a significant issue since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. In those attacks, 19 terrorists are believed to have snuck box cutters onto four commerical airplanes. The box cutters were thought to be used to subdue or kill the pilots or other crew members on the planes.
Southwest issued a statement saying that airline personnel were performing maintenance on an aircraft lavotory in New Orleans on Thursday night when they discovered a small plastic bag containing items intended to simulate a threat.
During another check on a plane in Houston, workers found a similar package.
"A note in both packages indicated the items were intended to challenge the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint security procedures," the Southwest statement said.
After consulting with the TSA, Southwest inspected its fleet of 385 aircraft and found no additional miscellaneous items.
"We will not speculate on who might have left these items onboard. We will cooperate with the federal authorities to investigate this thoroughly," the statement said.
www.foxnews.com
Friday, October 17, 2003
Authorities are searching every commercial airplane in the United States on Friday after someone left three suspicious bags filled with claylike material, bleach and boxcutters on two Southwest Airlines (search) flights, officials told Fox News.
Whoever left the bags on planes in Houston and New Orleans left notes that said the writer was concerned about security on airplanes. It is unclear when the bags were left on the planes.
The federal Transportation Security Administration (search) has directed that all commercial aircraft be searched within 24 hours, according to Department of Homeland Security spokesman Brian Roehrkasse.
Roehrkasse said he does not believe the searches will cause delays as the searches will occur between flights.
The massive search comes a week after federal authorities issued a warning to law enforcement officials that terrorists may be poised for new attacks in the United States.
"Recent multiple reports indicate terrorists may be poised to conduct simultaneous attacks in the near term against U.S. interests in a number of venues overseas and possibly in the United States,'' the special edition bulletin stated.
Increased security on airlines has been a significant issue since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. In those attacks, 19 terrorists are believed to have snuck box cutters onto four commerical airplanes. The box cutters were thought to be used to subdue or kill the pilots or other crew members on the planes.
Southwest issued a statement saying that airline personnel were performing maintenance on an aircraft lavotory in New Orleans on Thursday night when they discovered a small plastic bag containing items intended to simulate a threat.
During another check on a plane in Houston, workers found a similar package.
"A note in both packages indicated the items were intended to challenge the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint security procedures," the Southwest statement said.
After consulting with the TSA, Southwest inspected its fleet of 385 aircraft and found no additional miscellaneous items.
"We will not speculate on who might have left these items onboard. We will cooperate with the federal authorities to investigate this thoroughly," the statement said.
www.foxnews.com
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