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gregorio
Too Damn Old
Registered: 09/08/05
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Pilot Reports Missile Fired At Airliner
#5011687 - 12/03/05 08:09 PM (18 years, 3 months ago) |
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http://www.kyw1060.com/news_archives_detail.cfm?newsitemid=50753
Quote:
ilot Reports 'Missile' Fired at Jetliner Near LAX (11/28/05)
FBI agents and Homeland Security officials spent the weekend investigating the report of a possible missile fired at an American Airlines plane taking off from Los Angeles International Airport. Sources tell ABC News the pilot of American Airlines Flight 621, en route to Chicago, radioed air traffic controllers after takeoff from LAX. He told them a missile had been fired at the aircraft and missed.
The plane was over water when the pilot said he saw a smoke trail pass by the cockpit.
FBI agents believe it was a flare or a bottle rocket, but say they may never know if that's what it actually was.
I wonder what altitude they were at when the Pilot noticed the smoke trail pass by the cockpit? I don't see how this could be a bottle rocket, unless it had just taken off or was just getting ready to land, which doesn't seem to be the case because they were over water when it happened.
A Flair? Could be plausible, I guese. I wish the article would have provided more information on what altitude they were flying at when this occured.
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barfightlard
tales of theinexpressible
Registered: 01/29/03
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Re: Pilot Reports Missile Fired At Airliner [Re: gregorio]
#5012944 - 12/04/05 04:18 AM (18 years, 3 months ago) |
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A bottle rocket that shoots thousands of feet into the air with a thick smoke trail....Ya.. Sounds like that flight got lucky.
-------------------- "What business is it of yours what I do, read, buy, see, say, think, who I fuck, what I take into my body - as long as I do not harm another human being on this planet?" - Bill Hicks
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gregorio
Too Damn Old
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Re: Pilot Reports Missile Fired At Airliner [Re: barfightlard]
#5022125 - 12/06/05 06:20 AM (18 years, 3 months ago) |
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Heres a story from about one year ago.
Quote:
Counterterrorism officials are beefing up security at Los Angeles International Airport (search) to protect jetliners from terrorists armed with shoulder-launched missiles.
There is no immediate threat to aircraft, according to authorities, who said they were prompted to step up security because of recent overseas strikes against airliners, coupled with the availability of such weapons on the black market.
"The threat is real," said John Miller, head of the Los Angeles Police Department's counterterrorism bureau. "With about 20,000 of these available on the black market, for $2,000 to $3,000 each, there is no indication it will not be tried again."
While shoulder-launched missiles haven't been used against airliners in the United States, terrorists have fired missiles weighing less than 40 pounds at some two dozen commercial aircraft around the world
Last year, terrorists armed with a shoulder-launched missile struck a DHL cargo jet taking off from Baghdad International Airport, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing. In November 2002, two shoulder-launched missiles nearly missed a jet carrying 271 people.
A study conducted by the Rand Corp. (search) concluded earlier this year that Los Angeles International Airport is "a particularly attractive target" for terrorists. Increased patrols and the use of such technology as powerful laser beams to intercept missiles could make the airport safer, Rand said.
According to security experts, the airport has been targeted in five attacks or attempted attacks by terrorists over the last three decadesOne of the best known was an attempt to detonate a suitcase bomb at the airport on New Year's Eve 1999. The plot was foiled when an Algerian man was caught attempting to sneak the explosives into the United States from Canada.
To guard against shoulder-fired missiles, Sen. Barbara Boxer (search), D-Calif., has proposed equipping commercial planes with lasers that destroy the infrared guidance sensors on portable missiles.
The laser defense would cost about $1 million for each jetliner. C-17 military transport jets are already using such technology.
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