NBC New York "terrorists" fail to hijack helicopter...

[dseagrav 0]

http://www.aero-news.net/news/genav.cfm?Co...53b7f&Dynamic=1Be alert, alert others, and don't give these suckers any ammunition to work with!(The really bad part is that rather than tell people they tried and failed, they're going to keep trying until they finally get aboard someone's airplane, then blast that all over the news without mentioning they failed a few hundred times before finally getting someone. Or, now that the story's out of the bag online, they'll probably just never air anything.)

[Guest ba747heavy]

Very interesting read.

[CF104 0]

Ahhhh...... a perfect case of the 'News' trying to create the 'News'.This kind of journalistic behaviour makes me sick :-erks JohnBoeing 727/737 & Lockheed C-130/L-100 Mechanichttp://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/ng_driver.jpg

[Guest Paul Heaney]

If that story is true, those men need to be locked up and have the key thrown away.

[Splash_One 0]

>This kind of journalistic behaviour makes me sick My thoughts exactly.

[gosta 0]

Even if they had succeeded to rent the helicopter, it wouldn't have been a newsworthy story - what exactly were they going to do with boxcutters on a chartered helicopter? Vandalize the seats? What the scaremongeres among the newsmedia fail to realise is that GA aircraft are a terribly inefficient tool for terrorists when it comes to 9/11 style attacks. A fuel-filled Cessna flown into a building will probably take out someone's office, while a rented van filled with explosives will take out the entire building (and be cheaper). Loading the plane with explosives wouldn't really work, either. First, there is a weight restriction, then there is the resultant damage from the explosion: If you set off a bomb at the bottom of a building, there is a good chance the structure would be sufficiently weakened to cause the collapse of the building. If the explosion occurs higher up in the building (where a plane would hit), there is a good chance that the structure below the point of impact will remain intact. Result: Less damage for more money...General aviation is just an easy target - how would the public respond to a press campaign to shut down van and truck rental companies and prohibit the sale of such vehicles to mambers of the public?Cheers,Gosta.http://www.hifisim.com/images/as2betateam.jpg

[Guest enave]

90% of news stories are just like this. Not all of them are made up in this way, but the vast majority of them are heavily slanted so as to be sensational.

[Splash_One 0]

What if they got into the helicopter and actually took off? When the pilot notices two strangely acting Middle Eastern men with box-cutters, would he try to turn back, maybe with an excuse, and say there is a problem with the helicopter? Or would he have immediately felt that he and other civilians are in harms way and squawk 7500? It would have been quite a show to have military jets scramble to get on this helicopters arse for news purposes.... I think those men would be SCREWED when they got down, regardless of their position NBC...oh, yes, and they would probably need a new pair of pants ;)Jason :-wave

[Guest ba747heavy]

Good points Jason. If the journalists are honest folk, in my most humblest opinion then they report the story that as it happened. But I doubt they will, because the story as it stands now is boring ;)

[Tabs 2,790]

I don't know about being so quick to jump on this as bad journalism - what if they HAD succeeded in renting the helicopter and the FBO hadn't asked questions? They could have killed the pilot with the box cutters (hell they could have had guns even) then stolen the helicopter to do whatever they wanted with it. (equip it for spraying chem/bio weapons, load it with explosives and blow it on top of a mall or something etc)If it had in fact been that easy for them to get access to an aircraft (which it thankfully wasn't) I think we all should know...

[Guest Philip Olson]

I don't mean to be rude here but why should we all know? Well let me clarify my statement by stating what I think of such things. I do understand that part of what NBC was trying to do is make the country safer but I think there is a better way to do it without the harm that would come from the way they are going about it. To me if NBC only cared about security they would go ahead and plan these stings and if someone fails it gets reported to the owner of the company and the government so that changes can be made to improve their security, this way no "innocent" people get hurt and the terrorists don't get information about security holes that they might not already know about. When they broadcast their findings I see the following things happening, first Joe Schmo FBO will be shunned and potentially go out of business, that means people don't have a job anymore, some people that had nothing to do with the incident anyway are out on the streets and probably there will be bankruptcies by the company and maybe some of the ex employees as well. Next the level of fear of the American people will increase and many FBO's will suffer because people are afraid to rent a helicoptor or aircraft, and again people may lose jobs. As I said before, NBC will tell the terrorists where there is a hole in our security. Finally the only "good" thing that happens is that NBC will make a boat load of money for what they did so I have to ask why are they really doing this? I wonder how they would react if a group of people decided to check NBC's security? Upon reaching the control room these people start to play anti-American slogans and threats over the national airwaves, I wonder what would happen? Nothing good for anyone, other than the terrorists would know another way to get at and scare the American people and I am sure that NBC would lose some of it's audience and money, oh and I am sure a lot of people will lose their jobs. You see to me it looks like NBC is just trying to make money off of fear, they will ruin many people by doing this. There is a much better way to do this if you are interested in the security of our country, report it to the ownership of the company and the government and whoever else has a responsibility for security in that sector and then let them fix it. Yes, I do think that if someone's security is not up to snuff it should be fixed, but not at this high of price. Let's face it, if they fail and it is put on TV a lot of people are going to suffer who shouldn't, if they only report it to the proper authorities then it can be fixed without innocent people being hurt. There could also be penalties that the company would have to pay for not keeping their security up to standard, that is fine by me, but I still don't want this stuff in the media. Maybe if they did this without giving names and locations it would be better but you know that NBC will throw names around throughout their show. I want you to think about how many business's in this country could be used by the terrorists against us, should NBC go into and try to circumvent everyone's security? Think about how many people would be out of a job, how many people's lives would be ruined. This is just my opinion but looking at the positives versus the negatives here tells me that what NBC is trying to do is wrong. I am all for having a secure country but not at such a high price, I don't believe in doing it no matter the cost because more often than not the cost is the American people. Please don't think that I am attacking you personally because a small part of me thinks that things like this could help our country but it really begins to bother me when I look at the total effect of this. I guess the bottom line is this, after a show like that airs is it going to be good for the American people as a whole? In my opinion it will not but as people think differently others may find this to be good. Best regards and I hope that you do not feel like I attacked you. :-)Philip Olsonhttp://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/supporter.jpg

[rickalty 0]

I would have absolutely no problem with NBC doing an investigatory journalism piece on GA *IF* they then ran the "GA security is just fine" story with as much emphasis as they would have run a "Holes in GA security" story.In fact, I think running the "GA security is just fine" story is MORE important, as it might discourage real terrorists from trying, whereas a negative story might encourage them to try.Richard

[gosta 0]

Hi Richard,>In fact, I think running the "GA security is just fine" story is MORE important, as it might discourage real terrorists from trying, whereas a negative story might encourage them to try.http://www.hifisim.com/images/as2betateam.jpg

[Guest ba747heavy]

>I would have absolutely no problem with NBC doing an>investigatory journalism piece on GA *IF* they then ran the>"GA security is just fine" story with as much emphasis as they>would have run a "Holes in GA security" story.That is what I was trying to convey with my first post. Sadly, I don't think they will run the piece at all.

[tf51d 284]

Well the FBO may have the last laugh! What they did is considered Attempted Air Piracy no matter what the intent, and I think (Especially with the Patriot Act) it will carry a rather lengthy mandatory prison sentence under Federal sentencing guidelines for the 2 reporters. If it is found they were acting with the knowledge and support of NBC News. NBC themselves could be charged with conspiracy and racketeering, although that is unlikely. Freedom of the press does not mean a reporter can break the law to get a story! Especially one that is made up.