Passengers describe flight as a terrorist dry run

The Homeland Security Department's inspector general is investigating an incident involving 14 Syrian passengers aboard a flight from Detroit to Los Angeles last summer described by many federal air marshals and passengers as a dry run for a terrorist attack.
The investigation began shortly after the June 29 incident, but did not become public until the final phase of the inquiry when passengers reported facing hours of questioning in March from inspectors. "

www.washingtontimes.com...

Perhaps this was an actual terrorist attack. What IF, 14 suicide terrorist were infected with smallpox, or marburg, or ebola and all the needed to do was get on an airplane. The air on aircraft is always bad and often recirculated to save fuel. Passangers are infected, but syptoms don't start for days and is spead to 50 different cities before the outbreak is discovered. What IF?


[edit on 28-4-2005 by DrHoracid]

ughhh dr h.............that's thoughts that i hate to have...........airplane air is just full of germs to begin with...........i've flown on flights with people that had a cold........you could hear them sneezing and coughing throughout the entire flight.......and on both occasions i got sick about 24hrs later with a cold.

so having a "carrier" on a flight..........just scares the bee jeesus out of me. it could happen easily............so very easily.

angie

This is an old story, turned out to be a Syrian traveling band on the way to a concert, and some paranoid passengers. I will see if I can find a link, my ISP seems to be having problems today. I can't even see the Wash Times link right now.

Had they been carriers of a bioweapon, it would have been more sensible to send them on 14 different flights, in order to spread the contagion more effectively.

Bioweapons are scary, but I have doubts about their utility even for terrorist fanatics, as blowback is a near certainty. It wont do them any good to kill millions of infidels if it kills millions of their own as well.

Very interesting notion, one I have never though of before. As we all know, terrorists are not against blowing themselves up, so if they are ready to die to support their cause, what is to prevent them from infecting themselves with a deadly virus that can be spread through the air and jumping on an airplane to facilitate the spreading of the disease. Geez, that really is a scary thought. No one would even suspect until it was to late.

[edit on 4/28/2005 by DCFusion]

this was a bad tv movie, pandoras clock....A TV movie about a airliner with a man carrying a "Doomsday Virus" aboard, and with no country willing to let them land, and w/ terrorists out to shoot the plane down, what will happen.

After reading your last post regarding Marburg and Ebola I'd have to say you are a bit paranoid.
I am certain if you were actually a bio lab designer that you would not be here discussing your paranoia.

Originally posted by DrHoracid
The Homeland Security Department's inspector general is investigating an incident involving 14 Syrian passengers aboard a flight from Detroit to Los Angeles last summer described by many federal air marshals and passengers as a dry run for a terrorist attack.
The investigation began shortly after the June 29 incident, but did not become public until the final phase of the inquiry when passengers reported facing hours of questioning in March from inspectors. "

www.washingtontimes.com...

Perhaps this was an actual terrorist attack. What IF, 14 suicide terrorist were infected with smallpox, or marburg, or ebola and all the needed to do was get on an airplane. The air on aircraft is always bad and often recirculated to save fuel. Passangers are infected, but syptoms don't start for days and is spead to 50 different cities before the outbreak is discovered. What IF?


[edit on 28-4-2005 by DrHoracid]

Sounds like a "Jihad" dryrun to me.

Only a fool would beleave that these Syrians were a "traveling band"

More like a Band-of-Terrorists rather than a music band.

xmotex, I don't think passengers were paranoid, if you saw what these Syrian punks were doing on that plane you woulda reacted the same way....unless your a Liberal.

If a hijacking went down, Im sure a good Liberal would pull out a Koran they bought at the magazine counter before boarding and become an instant convert to Islam to save their bacon. Hell, if their a twisted graduate from Berkely or NYU, they might even help the terrorists take over the plane!

My point is.....this was a dry run, but not for a Bio attack, just another suicide rehersal.

Max




[edit on 013030p://444 by LA_Maximus]

From the article:

Just before landing, seven of the men stood in unison and went inside the restrooms. Upon returning to his seat, the last man mouthed the word "no" as he ran his finger across his throat.

Does any body else find that laughable?

These "would-be terrorists" are trying to be covert and sneaky, but then to call off the mission, the guy does a throat slashing gesture and uses the English word for "no"...

Being Syrian and on an American flight, why wouldn't they use a Syrian word for no. And why make such an obvious gesture like slashing a throat? One would figure that they would have a more subtle system of signals worked out, and not ones that are pretty specific to American culture.

Sounds to me like some lady was being a little paranoid and fantasizing too much on her flight.

[edit on 28-4-2005 by Hajduk]

If they were terrorists on a dry run, why have there been no arrests?

What's so unbelievable about Syrians in a traveling band? Syrians don't have bands?

My internet connection has recovered apparently, found an article that debunks the "dry run" theory. I knew I had heard about this one.

"Dry Run" Story Debunked

But there was one problem in Jacobsen's account. The 14 men claiming to be musicians were, in fact, exactly that. Nour Mehana, a well-known Syrian singer, had been travelling on the plane along with his entire backing band.

James Cullen of Athem Artists confirmed that Mehana and the band were on the same flight as Jacobsen. The band went on to play a gig on the outskirts of San Diego.

Mehana, who plays a mix of traditional and modern Arab music, is well known in the Middle East. It is likely that he was the man Jacobsen saw sitting in first class wearing sunglasses. Jacobsen says she does not recognise Mehana or any of the band members.

This has been posted and argued, and there were multiple dry runs in a short period that were reported. Wasn't actor James Woods involved with it somehow?

There were too many loopholes in that traveling band incident. When it happens, it will be just like 9/11, getting your coffee, putting on the news and learning that a few cities are 'gone'. It is not paranoia, nor is it thoughts of doomsday, it is ineveitable in the enviroment we exist in today for the threat to dissappear. Enjoy your kids and each day don't live looking over you shoulder, just be vigilant.

Originally posted by LA_Maximus
My point is.....this was a dry run, but not for a Bio attack, just another suicide rehersal.

Max

No offense but how do you reherse a suicide? Reminds me of the Bugs bunny episode when Daffy Duck warns the audience that he can only perform the trick once.

Originally posted by Lanotom
After reading your last post regarding Marburg and Ebola I'd have to say you are a bit paranoid.
I am certain if you were actually a bio lab designer that you would not be here discussing your paranoia.

There is a vast difference between being "paranoid" and being prepared. As to your being "certain" do you know the difference between "gas" and "bubble" tight and what do they pertain to? What temperature does the biowaste system have to maintain to kill prions and how long at that temp. What is SF-6 and how is it useful in building biolabs? What is a pressure decay test?

Be careful what you are "certain" of my friend.

This is old news. Why is it being brought up?

If the feds, who in their current overbearing mode was able to clear 14 middle eastern men traveling together as being nothing more than a Syrian Band, then I am inclined to believe they are just that: a traveling troupe of troubladors on tour in the US to spread music, not small pox. Given that the current govornment practically dissects every single middle easterner in this country on little provocation, and is holding people at Gitmo for even lesser charges, if they actually ended up clearing and releasing these guys, then I highly doubt they are terrorists, thus, this whole topic is moot.

Besides, I have better things and more pressing concerns to worry about in this country than terrorism, and its not exactly a subject that I find worth worrying about or contemplating, with far more pressing and immediate threats and concerns facing the country.