posted on September 13, 2001 08:46:00 PM new
Report: Officials Concerned Arrests At Area Airports Related To Possible Second Wave Of Attacks
(New York-WABC, September 13, 2001) — There are now real fears that there may have been two attempts to repeat Tuesday's terror attack Thursday. ABC News is reporting that 10 people were taken into custody after they tried to board planes at two New York airports carrying fake IDs and knives. Investigative Correspondent Jim Hoffer has late details.
These new developments back up what a source with close government ties told us after the attack. He said the FBI was looking for more would-be hijackers. The question now: did they find them tonight?
The reason for the sudden closing of New York's airports Thursday evening has become terrifyingly clear. According to ABC News, authorities are holding 10 individuals who were attempting to board flights at LaGuardia and JFK. Some of them reportedly carrying knives, false IDs and pilot licenses.
Commissioner Bernard Kerik, NYPD: "There have been a number of people detained over the last two or three hours at the airport with possibly ficitious Identification."
Police say one man was arrested at Kennedy Airport Thursday evening. ABC News reports that he is one of 10 people detained in "FBI activity" that grounded all US flights into and out of all three New York-area airports.
ABCNews.Com reports that officials fear the two groups of people may have been set to mount a second wave of terror following Tuesday's attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
According to ABC News, officials say four men were detained by the FBI and Joint Terrorist Task Force between 4:15pm and 5pm at JFK International Airport trying to board a United Airlines flight to Los Angeles. In addition to carrying open tickets to various destinations in the US, officials say they had fake identification, knives, and flight certificates from Flight Safety International in Vero Beach, Florida, one of the schools the suspected terrorists were allegedly trained.
Officials say the four individuals had been originally booked on a flight to Los Angeles from New York on Tuesday morning. Their flight did not depart because it was canceled after the attacks on the World Trade Center.
Following the detention of the four men, officials say a female was also detained who apparently was involved with the men. NYPD Commissioner Bernard Kerik, who confirmed the reports of the arrest and detention, would not identify the people involved, but said some were Arab nationals.
Later at LaGuardia Airport, five men were detained between 7:30pm and 8:15pm according to ABC News reports. Officials say they were stopped attempting to board an aircraft with luggage that said they were crew members. No names were immediately released.
Just before 11:00pm, I interviewed a man who was supposed to be a passenger on Thursday night's United Flight from JFK to Los Angeles. It was supposed to be the first flight out of New York to L.A. since the attack. Fortunately for him and others aboard, it didn't take off.
After the plane sat at the gate with the passengers on board for more than three hours, suddenly all hell broke loose.
Jim Hunter, Passenger: "Ten minutes later, maybe 15 minutes later I heard a scream behind me and a guy yelling and I turned around. When I turned back around to face the front a whole slew of about 20 policemen came on, several in SWAT gear, others that were Port Authority policement, pistols, all guns out and blaring. We all were told to put our heads down. Most of us got on the floor and put our heads on our chairs just to stay as low as possible. They, meanwhile were wrestling this guy in the back, and he was yelling, definitely not in English, I'm not an expert so I really couldn't tell you what. He was yelling and they dragged him off. And some people sitting right in front of me, they also asked them to come off, they handcuffed them and took them with them. I'm not sure what that was about, but they released three, maybe four people were taken off in handcuffs off the plane."
Jim Hunter, who was on Flight 133, said he was still trying to process what happened to him just hours before.
