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Frightening Echo of Attacks of September 11th
Aired October 17, 2003 - 13:00 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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: A frightening echo of the attacks of September 11th, box cutters found on two commercial aircraft. And now an order by the federal government that all commercial planes be inspected and quickly.
With the very latest, our national security correspondent David Ensor -- David.
DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATL. CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, government officials are telling CNN's Kelli Arena and others here at CNN that the bags were found on two Southwest Airlines flights last night. They were found in the planes' bathrooms. Each time with a note with words to the effect of, "Your security is not tough enough." Three bags found on each plane, officials say. The first flight flew last night from Austin to Houston. And the second from Orlando to New Orleans.
The discoveries came during maintenance checks at the end of those flights, according to a Southwest Airlines statement. In the bags on each plane were box cutters, bottles of bleach, the bleach put into empty suntan lotion bottles, and what looks like children's plasticiene (ph), or clay, officials tell us. Investigators say the significance is, if clay can get through security, it is possible certain types of plastic explosives also could, and they say that the bleach could be used by hijackers to throw in a person's face and incapacitate them.
The significance of the box cutters, of course, is obvious to anyone who remembers how the 9/11 hijackers used box cutters as weapons back then.
Obviously, the question for investigators now is who put them there, and how did the materials get through security in Austin and Orlando? As a precautionary measure, officials are telling CNN's Jeanne Meserve that the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration have ordered all commercial aircraft in the U.S. fleet be searched today by security personnel -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, David Ensor, thank you. We'll continue to follow that story.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired October 17, 2003 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: A frightening echo of the attacks of September 11th, box cutters found on two commercial aircraft. And now an order by the federal government that all commercial planes be inspected and quickly.
With the very latest, our national security correspondent David Ensor -- David.
DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATL. CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, government officials are telling CNN's Kelli Arena and others here at CNN that the bags were found on two Southwest Airlines flights last night. They were found in the planes' bathrooms. Each time with a note with words to the effect of, "Your security is not tough enough." Three bags found on each plane, officials say. The first flight flew last night from Austin to Houston. And the second from Orlando to New Orleans.
The discoveries came during maintenance checks at the end of those flights, according to a Southwest Airlines statement. In the bags on each plane were box cutters, bottles of bleach, the bleach put into empty suntan lotion bottles, and what looks like children's plasticiene (ph), or clay, officials tell us. Investigators say the significance is, if clay can get through security, it is possible certain types of plastic explosives also could, and they say that the bleach could be used by hijackers to throw in a person's face and incapacitate them.
The significance of the box cutters, of course, is obvious to anyone who remembers how the 9/11 hijackers used box cutters as weapons back then.
Obviously, the question for investigators now is who put them there, and how did the materials get through security in Austin and Orlando? As a precautionary measure, officials are telling CNN's Jeanne Meserve that the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration have ordered all commercial aircraft in the U.S. fleet be searched today by security personnel -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, David Ensor, thank you. We'll continue to follow that story.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
