-Caveat Lector- WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War! JET PLOT By AL GUART ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- September 26, 2001 -- Osama bin Laden's henchmen tried to buy a multi-million dollar Boeing 727 six months before they hijacked commercial planes and slammed them into the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, The Post has learned. "Someone connected to Osama bin Laden was looking to buy a retired aircraft sometime in March," a federal investigator close to the terrorism probe told The Post. "He was also trying to recruit Americans to buy it for him, to act as a front. "They got at least as far as kicking tires [in used-airplane lots] in Denver and Tucson," the source said. The suspected terrorists found a Fort Lauderdale, Fla., broker who tried to represent them in the deal, said the source. Bin Laden's followers were also looking to hire American pilots for private training sessions at the time. The source declined to name bin Laden's representatives or the dealers involved. The information, described as "not specific enough" to have thwarted the Sept. 11 attacks, was passed to the FBI at the time and the agency is looking into the matter, sources said. Mohamed Atta and other hijackers took flying lessons about 200 miles from Fort Lauderdale in July 2000, and logged time on a Boeing 727 flight simulator in Miami. Probers believe they wanted the jet to hone their piloting skills and for possible use in an attack. "It looks like they wanted to get the feel of flying a big plane," one source said, noting that the hijackers flew mostly small planes in flight schools around the country. "A flight simulator is good, but it isn't the real thing." The four hijacked planes included two Boeing 767s that destroyed the World Trade Center and two 757s, one of which hit the Pentagon, the other of which crashed in a Pennsylvania field. Another view is that terrorists could try using a purchased or leased jet to sidestep airport security. "This could be the next step," said terrorism expert and author Tony Dennis. "It certainly would be one way to get around any heightened airline security. "What this also says is they have serious money," Dennis said. Buying a "mothballed" 727 or any plane is easy, if you have the money. "Right now, there are more than 900 airliners out of service that are subject to sale," said Bob Chipperfield of Jet Traders in Santa Clarita, Calif. "The procedure for buying one is pretty straightforward. "The plane is listed, contact is made, the plane is inspected and an offer is made. All you need is the money." Boeing 727s cost between $1.5 million to $8 million, depending on the engine and condition, said Gordon Hamilton, president of Hamilton Aviation in Tucson, Ariz., which has 20 jets parked and ready for sale. Aircraft dealers and brokers have kept a wary eye out for drug runners looking to buy planes, but now must remain on alert for customers who might be linked to terrorists, Chipperfield said. "Most people in the aviation industry are pretty sharp," Chipperfield said. "They would have their antennae up and report anything suspicious right away." Mojave Airport in Southern California now has more than 100 retired jets ready to be refurbished, recertified and sold. The attempt last March would not be the first time bin Laden bought a jet in the United States. In 1992, a pilot named Essam al-Ridi, acting on bin Laden's behalf, paid $250,000 for a decommissioned T-39A jet from the U.S. military. Al-Ridi testified last February in Manhattan federal court that he flew the plane from the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center in Tucson and delivered it to the terror chief's former base in Sudan, where it was to be used to ferry Stinger missiles from Pakistan. There, he met bin Laden. "We just had dinner and chatted," al-Ridi testified. "I just gave the keys to Osama bin Laden." But the plane's brakes failed and it crashed on the runway, al-Ridi said. Bin Laden, a multimillionaire, has access to several other planes, including an executive jet and a C-130 *COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for nonprofit research and educational purposes only.[Ref. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ] Want to be on our lists? Write at [EMAIL PROTECTED] for a menu of our lists! <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
