"FAA Warned Airlines of Hijack Danger in 1998"

Sunday, May 26, 2002

FAA Warned Airlines of Danger in 1998


WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Federal Aviation Administration told airlines more
than three years ago to be on a ``high degree of alertness'' against
possible hijackings by followers of Osama bin Laden, a government source
said Sunday.

The FAA cited statements made by bin Laden following U.S. attacks on
suspected al-Qaida facilities in Afghanistan and Sudan in August 1998, said
the source, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Like the circulars issued in 2001 before the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11,
the October 1998 circulars did not contain any specific credible threats and
did not order the airlines to increase security.

The FAA did not receive any additional information about possible threats
and the 1998 advisories expired in January 1999, the source said.

``It was intended to be a short-term thing,'' the source said.

The Associated Press reported earlier this month that the FAA issued 15
advisories to airlines and airports from January 2001 to August 2001.

One of the 2001 circulars, obtained by the AP, warned airlines on April 18
that Middle Eastern terrorists could try to hijack or blow up a U.S. plane
and told carriers to ``demonstrate a high degree of alertness.''

The 2001 warning noted that four al-Qaida members were on trial in New York,
accused of being involved in the U.S. embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania
in 1998.

The source, confirming a report in The Boston Globe, noted that Islamic
terrorists had threatened to hijack U.S. airplanes in 1998.

``While this threat remains unsubstantiated, there is information from one
of the incarcerated suspects in the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi
that he received aircraft hijack training,'' the Globe quoted the October
1998 advisory as saying.
``The arrest and pending extradition of bin Laden cadre raises the
possibility of a U.S. airliner being hijacked in an effort to demand the
release of incarcerated members.''

On the Net:

Federal Aviation Administration: http://www.faa.gov

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