Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live At Daybreak

FBI Issues Alert About Terrorists Targeting Airliners With Shoulder-Fired Missiles

Aired May 31, 2002 - 05:08   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The FBI has issued a nationwide alert about the potential of terrorists targeting commercial airliners with shoulder fired missiles. Shoulder fired missiles include the Stinger missile, which has a range of up to five miles.

Now, the warning follows the discovery of a missile launching tube at the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. The investigation suggests the discovery is likely related to al Qaeda efforts to target U.S.-led forces on the Arabian Peninsula.

So here's what the FBI has to say about it: "The FBI possesses no information indicating that al Qaeda is planning to use Stinger missiles or any type of portable anti-aircraft weapons system against commercial aircraft in the United States. However, given al Qaeda's demonstrated objective to target the United States airline industry, its access to U.S. and Russian made systems and recent apparent targeting of U.S.-led military forces in Saudi Arabia, law enforcement agencies in the United States should remain alert to potential use of shoulder fired missiles against U.S. aircraft."

So, it probably doesn't make you feel any better, but that's what the FBI is saying about that this morning.

According to the FBI, between 1978 and 1998 Stingers and similar shoulder fired missiles were behind 29 incidents involving civilian aircraft. There were 550 deaths, which occurred mostly in war zones.

CNN's Bruce Burkhardt has more on those weapons.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRUCE BURKHARDT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): During the Cold War, the Stinger and its Russian made counterpart circulated around the world like trading cards. Highly mobile, easy to operate and extremely effective, the Stinger is a short range surface to air missile that uses infrared to lock onto a heat source such as an aircraft engine. It is not laser guided.

A small rocket fires the missile out of a six foot tube. Then when the missile is well clear of the person firing it, the main solid rocket engine ignites, sending the missile off at nearly 1,500 miles per hour to an altitude of 11,000 to 13,000 feet, where airplanes find themselves when landing or taking off. The early models, ones from the '60s and '70s, are the ones most likely to have fallen into the hands of terrorists, are easily foiled by counter measures. But more importantly, they have a shelf life, an estimated 10 to 12 years. The gas needed to cool the targeting device eventually goes bad.

Still, the threat to commercial aircraft is real. Though military aircraft can employ counter-measures, civilian planes don't have that capability. In October of '98, a passenger jet carrying 40 passengers was shot down in the eastern Congo by rebel fighters. It's suspected that an SA-7, the Russian version of the Stinger, was the weapon used. That missile apparently still had some shelf life left.

Bruce Burkhardt, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Would you know I'm flying today? I hate hearing stuff like that. But we must provide that information to our audience as responsible journalists.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com