Man arrested for planned UAV attack on Pentagon and Capital

[CWOJackson]

ASHLAND, Mass -- An Ashland man has been arrested in connection with a plot to attack the Pentagon and U.S. Capitol according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Prosecutors say the 26-year-old was a Northeastern University graduate.


He was reportedly planning to use a large remote controlled aircraft packed with C-4 explosives to do serious damage to the U.S. Capitol.
The charges also include providing help to Al-Qaeda.


Officials say no one was ever in danger.


Read more: http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/local/12005493478837/ashland-man-arrested-for-terror-plot/#ixzz1ZHNbV9io

Mostly just headlines on TV News at the moment but one said he intended to use a model F-86 packed with C-4 for the attack.

[Allen]

I'll file this in the "Why the he!! did it take so long for some to to try it" folder.

[stansdds]

Sadly, there will likely be calls for banning civilian ownership and operation of R/C aircraft.

[CWOJackson]

Sadly, there will likely be calls for banning civilian ownership and operation of R/C aircraft.

Unfortunately, my thoughts exactly. More information is coming out now...http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/09/28/massachusetts-man-arrested-in-plot-to-destroy-pentagon-us-capitol/#ixzz1ZHvPqT7q

I'm assuming the F-86 was large enough to carry twenty pounds of explosives.

[bearcat241]

I'll file this in the "Why the he!! did it take so long for some to to try it" folder.

With the way that the various national security players operate here and abroad, leaking "nice catch" stories at their own discretion, how would we know with any certainty that this was the first such attempt? http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/images/icons/icon23.gif

[crashaz]

Sadly, there will likely be calls for banning civilian ownership and operation of R/C aircraft.

Nah but expect Homeland Security at your next R/C event to inspect the airplanes and perform patdowns. :icon_lol:

Guy must have been an American Muslim.... he wanted to use an R/C plane and not die.

[TeaSea]

Goodness....

Someone flew a 757 full of fuel and weighing in at around 220,000 lbs into the side of the Pentagon at over 130 knots and folks continued to work in the building the whole day.

What do we really think 20 lbs of explosive is going to do?

[robert41]

Heard about this on the news driving home tonight. I doubt that this is the first attempt to use a UAV or RC aircraft for terrorism.

[hawkeye52]

Sadly, there will likely be calls for banning civilian ownership and operation of R/C aircraft.

"Ferdaus, who is a Northeastern University graduate with a degree in physics...."

Maybe we should place all physicists on no-fly lists. Or all Northeastern U grads. Or....:sleep:

- H52

[Allen]

Goodness....

Someone flew a 757 full of fuel and weighing in at around 220,000 lbs into the side of the Pentagon at over 130 knots

http://rlv.zcache.com/citation_needed_bumper_sticker-p128912061722662976trl0_400.jpg

[Emil Frand]

There was a thread here a while ago about the feds considering laws concerning jet R/C planes and their size and speed capabilities and most here thought them just sticking their noses into something that wasnt their business. I guess this might explain some concern. How much damage could 20 pounds of explosive do? How bout hitting a passenger plane landing or taking off or an oil refinery,maybe a football or baseball game? 20 pounds is enough to cause enough damage for concern.
Imagine a scale model screamin in at 300mph, what possible defense could be mounted in time to stop it? I doubt this is the last we'll here about this. Its cost effective and you dont have to try to smuggle it into the country.

[jhefner]

There was a thread here a while ago about the feds considering laws concerning jet R/C planes and their size and speed capabilities and most here thought them just sticking their noses into something that wasnt their business. I guess this might explain some concern. How much damage could 20 pounds of explosive do? How bout hitting a passenger plane landing or taking off or an oil refinery,maybe a football or baseball game? 20 pounds is enough to cause enough damage for concern.
Imagine a scale model screamin in at 300mph, what possible defense could be mounted in time to stop it? I doubt this is the last we'll here about this. Its cost effective and you dont have to try to smuggle it into the country.

Getting hold of a R/C plane -- easy.
Getting hold of 20 lbs of C4 explosives -- that's the tricky part. You can't buy it at Wal-Mart, or order it on the Internet. That is where most of these folks get caught, they reach out to someone trying to buy some, and they turn them in.

-James

[n4gix]

What do we really think 20 lbs of explosive is going to do?

The RC aircraft were intended as distractions, mainly to force evacuations of the targeted buildings. The plan called for several snipers to be in place and ready to kill people as they were trying to evacuate the building(s).

Until I learned that these are 1/10th scale models, I had some doubts about the viablility much less the credibility of this diabolical plan...

[Emil Frand]

good point

Getting hold of a R/C plane -- easy.
Getting hold of 20 lbs of C4 explosives -- that's the tricky part. You can't buy it at Wal-Mart, or order it on the Internet. That is where most of these folks get caught, they reach out to someone trying to buy some, and they turn them in.

-James

[CWOJackson]

http://www.modelaircraft.org/news/RCPlot.aspx

The Academy of Model Aeronautics weighs in.

[TeaSea]

Citation.......

(www.Boeing.com): (http://www.Boeing.com):)

Boeing 757-200

<tbody>


Passengers
Typical 2-class configuration
Typical 1-class configuration
200
228


Cargo
1,670 cu ft (43.3 cu m)


Engines
maximum thrust
Rolls-Royce RB211-535E4
40,200 lb (179 kN)

Rolls-Royce RB211-535E4B
43,500 lb (193.5 kN)

Pratt & Whitney PW2037
36,600 lb (162.8 kN)

Pratt & Whitney PW2040
40,100 lb (178.4 kN)


Maximum Fuel Capacity
11,489 gal (43,490 l)


Maximum Takeoff Weight

255,000 lb (115,680 kg)


Maximum Range
3,900 nautical miles (7,222 km)


Cruise Speed
Mach 0.80


Basic Dimensions
Wing span
Overall Length
Tail Height
Interior Cabin Width
Body Exterior Width
124 ft 10 in (38.05 m)
155 ft 3 in (47.32 m)
44 ft 6 in (13.6 m)
11 ft 7 in (3.5 m)
12 ft 4 in (3.7 m)

</tbody>



And I stand corrected on the speed of the A/C...according to the flight data recorder, it was traveling at 375 MPH (Aerospace.Web.Org) or 326 Knots....purty fast.....

Wonder how fast that RC plane can go?
<tbody>

































</tbody>

[AckAck]

My guess is the "citation needed" comment was a tweak, and could have been referring to this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9/11_conspiracy_theories#The_Pentagon

At least, I'm hoping it was a tweak. I used it as one on another forum better suited to such discussions.

Brian

[TeaSea]

Completely legit request tho'....