Kennedy Airport Terror Plot Thwarted

[emshighway]

The CNN talking heads are spouting all the security is in the front end and none in the back end. As I am sure most of you are already aware there are a lot of measures in the back-end from SIDA badging, ADASP employee screening to perimeter detection. These talking heads and self appointed security experts they have on cheer for tightening of measures even more. If we were to tighten security to the measures they want the airports would come to a screeching halt. They will then complain (as they do now) of delays are how hard it is to fly.

One of the supposed security experts complained that people in the lobby are not screened. Could you imagine how long the lines would be if people were screened at the front door? Then the complaint would be someone could blow themselves up in the line outside the airport.

The airports were designed for an open society. Measure have been taken and will be added to tighten up the holes. With the amount of employees at an airport the potential for bad apples is like anywhere else but with intelligence as used in this case and awareness of the employees to something suspicious hopefully threats like this can continue to be stopped.

As opposed to cringing that spotting will become harder this should be an opportunity to once again offer the services of an organized spotting group to for the use of their eyes and ears to report suspicious activities.

[Tom_Turner]

As opposed to cringing that spotting will become harder this should be an opportunity to once again offer the services of an organized spotting group to for the use of their eyes and ears to report suspicious activities.

Well, I suppose it will be another opportunity for that. It will be an opportunity for the Port Authority to say YES or NO again as well.

Tom

[SengaB]

Phil, Mario,

Thanks Mario, Thats exactly what I was saying.
However since you all brough it up. I feel events like this do affect our hobby indirectly to some degree- usually negativly.
I have already heard of an instance where this has happend today.
Senga

[tipek]

Senga, how is our hobby hitting an all new low? I don't see the connection. Maybe security might be stepped up a bit, but nothing beyond that.

Not to mention that this attack had little to do with anything that is beyond TSA security at the airport.

Well, not even hour ago I was kicked out from "official" spotting location at IAD...

[PHL Approach]

Senga, how is our hobby hitting an all new low? I don't see the connection. Maybe security might be stepped up a bit, but nothing beyond that.

Not to mention that this attack had little to do with anything that is beyond TSA security at the airport.

Well, not even hour ago I was kicked out from "official" spotting location at IAD...

Rafal has proved it only what 2 hours after this had happened. Phil, this will undoubtly give us new hurdles to overcome.

[T-Bird76]

Some of you really are making this bigger then it is to our hobby... If you recall after the London bomb plot was uncovered security was raised and a few of us got a bit of a bothering. Give it a few weeks and it will be back to normal, this will not give our hobby new hurdles to overcome. JFK and LGA have plenty of public parks around them to spot freely where you can enjoy the hobby.

Rafal what spotting area did you get kicked out from? From my trips down to IAD there isn't an "official" spotting location with the exception of the Air and Space museum. Technically all the other spots i.e parking garage are private and they can ask you to leave.

Look at it this way to, the sky is going to suck for pictures anyway with this haze, so take a break and go to the beach.

[tipek]

I was taking pictures with Blendi from the parking garage. (Daily 2 level 5). Washington Airport Authority people have told us few years ago that we won't be bothered while taking pictures from both parking garages and museum's parking lot.

Both cops were reall *******s. I don't want to go into details because I get mad when I think about it. Simply, without any reason they've told us to get the hell out of there.

Rafal

[emshighway]

I was taking pictures with Blendi from the parking garage. (Daily 2 level 5). Washington Airport Authority people have told us few years ago that we won't be bothered while taking pictures from both parking garages and museum's parking lot.

Both cops were reall *******s. I don't want to go into details because I get mad when I think about it. Simply, without any reason they've told us to get the hell out of there.

Rafal

Well since every news agency is running to an airport to get b roll the powers that be will be sensitive to anyone with a camera today. Since it was mentioned the plotters were visiting JFK taking pictures the news cameras may be pointed at you then they will throw a mic in front of the police asking why they didn't check you out.

The cops don't want the hassle.

[nikon50bigma]

This is going to make spotting much more difficult now.

[T-Bird76]

This is going to make spotting much more difficult now.

OMG....I can't believe the thought pattens going on in some peoples mind! The same dam thing happened with the London plots and a few weeks later it was fine! Of course the cops are going to be up ppls ass right now bc its in the spotlight. The only places you probably will get run off is the cargo area and the Firestone parking lot. All the other locations are parks! You can do whatever you want in a park its public land.

[Mellyrose]

Moderator Note: This thread has been locked temporarily.

[NIKV69]

This plot never made it out of the planning stages. From what I hear the feds had an informant that got the info from the employee at the airport and it was basically just talk. I think if truth be known there are prob a hundred of attacks that are currently being planned at JFK from terrorists. Whats funny is that the person involved is in an insider. This is the media just trying to scare the **** out of people. I would not make a big thing out of this and just go about things as normal.

[nwafan20]

This is going to make spotting much more difficult now.

OMG....I can't believe the thought pattens going on in some peoples mind! The same dam thing happened with the London plots and a few weeks later it was fine! Of course the cops are going to be up ppls ass right now bc its in the spotlight. The only places you probably will get run off is the cargo area and the Firestone parking lot. All the other locations are parks! You can do whatever you want in a park its public land.

I have to agree with Tommy, unless an attack actually went through. Our hobby won't be effected one bit. People are overreacting

[cancidas]

The CNN talking heads...

lol!! that's so damn true...

[Matt Molnar]

OMG....I can't believe the thought pattens going on in some peoples mind! The same dam thing happened with the London plots and a few weeks later it was fine!

The big difference between this and London: this happened here.

I don't want to be a doomsdayer, but I'd say the following each have a high likelihood of happening in the coming weeks and months as a result of this:
- More people are going to call the cops on spotters, resulting in more cops giving spotters talkings-to
- There will be more cops patrolling the perimeters of airports, and they will give spotters talkings-to when they see them.
- Using the fact that these guys conducted "surveillance" of JFK as ammo, at least one of our opportunist local lawmakers (Schumer, Wiener, Clinton, et al.) will suggest banning photography around airports. Aside from us, no one will try to stop them.

Remember what they did after the Corey Lidle crash? They proposed all kinds of feel good legislation so planes wouldn't fly in certain areas, yet would be impossible to enforce in a way that would actually protect anyone.

Just yesterday, more of the same. Rep. Anthony Wiener proposed a ban of tourist helicopter flights over Manhattan. Why? He was leveraging a story from FOUR YEARS AGO to get his name in the papers...the story of some terrorist types who speculated that it would be neat to fly one of those choppers into a skyscraper. Of course if a terrorist wanted to commandeer a chopper which was newly relegated to flying strictly over the river, there'd be nothing to stop him from turning it just a bit to the east and hitting something.

Schumer has press conferences on many Sundays, and he loves talking about air issues. I wonder if he'll have anything to say tomorrow.