Quote:
According to the BBC:
Although a terror motive has been ruled out, Bishop was revealed to have been obsessed by the devastating suicide hijack attacks of 11 September and was carrying a suicide note "expressing sympathy" for Osama Bin Laden.
He "clearly stated he had acted alone without any help from anyone else," said Tampa Police Chief Bennie Holder.
Mr Holder said there was no evidence that Bishop was trying to harm anyone else.
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The note and the refusal to respond to the Coast Guard Helicopter is evidence. And the act of flying a plane into an office building in the wake of 9/11 may be taken as evidence of intent of an individual with such a note on his person at the time. This was no accident. It was diliberate. It was premeditated. If the occupant of that office had been "going about his business" on Saturday, would it be murder/suicide, or suicide causing accidental death?
Questions are being asked about the risk of
copy-cat terrorism. The terrorist attacks of September 11 exposed weaknesses in our systems to defend against similar attacks. The authorities must demonstrate that these weaknesses no longer exist.
Quote:
According the the BBC:
Two US military F-15 fighter aircraft and a US Coast Guard helicopter were scrambled to intercept the Cessna 172R plane.
Concern was heightened when it flew into restricted airspace over the nearby MacDill Air Force Base - headquarters of the US Central Command in charge of the war in Afghanistan.
After a nine-minute flight, the plane flew into the 28th and 29th floors of the 42-storey Bank of America building, despite being intercepted by the helicopter.
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The Director of Homeland Security should make it publicly clear that the next troubled individual that flies a plane without authority, and/or refuses to respond to military escort helicopters and fighter planes, will not be given the benefit of any doubt as to the intent of the rogue pilot and the danger that aircraft poses to civilians and our national security.
Or, are we only prepared to shoot down airliners?