-Caveat Lector-
NYPOST
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
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Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHVH, TZEVAOT
FROM THE DESK OF:
*Michael Spitzer* <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
The Best Way To Destroy Enemies Is To Change Them To Friends
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