- Federal investigators are increasingly leaning toward
a theory that the suicide hijackers got inside help from airport employees,
the Daily News has learned.
-
- FBI agents are combing through the employee records at
companies ó from airline caterers to cleaning contractors ó
that service aircraft at the three airports from which the planes were
hijacked, said a law enforcement source close to the probe.
-
- Police officer carries wreckage from one of the hijacked
planes from World Trade Center site yesterday. They're investigating the
possibility that airport workers helped to smuggle the knives the hijackers
used aboard the planes.
-
- "There are more and more indications that they [the
hijackers] may have had help on the inside," said a source.
"There
are lots of people who don't go through metal detectors who have access
to airplanes. They are leaning toward an inside job."
-
- The disclosure came as Attorney General John Ashcroft
revealed that investigators had arrested or detained 352 people in the
massive probe ó and were searching for nearly 400.
-
- Investigators believe the box cutters used by the
hijackers
could have been planted beforehand by airport employees who have ready
access to the so-called sterile areas of airports ó the zone past
metal detector checkpoints.
-
- This theory has gained even more credence since the
discovery
of similar box cutters on at least two more airplanes ó after they
were grounded following the Sept. 11 hijackings.
-
- Another federal source speaking to The News said
investigators
believe the knives found later on the other planes ó in some cases,
under seat cushions ó had been planted there.
-
- This offered two great leads: who was sitting in the
seats, and who had access to the planes, the source said.
-
- The investigators are looking at lists of employees in
the food service, cleaning and airline maintenance industries, the source
said.
-
- They are focusing on companies that do business at Newark
Airport, Logan Airport in Boston and Washington's Dulles Airport ó
the three places from which the hijacked flights departed Sept. 11.
-
- Some investigators believe that as part of the plot,
the terrorists planted employees at firms that had ready access to
aircraft.
-
- "The [caterers] have planeside access," said
a source. "When they load the plane, it would be very easy for someone
to come in, plant the weapon ahead of time."
-
- High Turnover Eyed
-
- Investigators have not ruled out the possibility that
the hijackers simply went through normal passenger checkpoints with the
box cutters ó and boarded the planes undetected, the source
said.
-
- But given the high turnover among support staff at
airports,
it would have been relatively easy for someone to obtain a position as
a food handler or maintenance worker with access to planes, the source
said.
-
- "All you have to do to become a model employee is
to show up on time, don't drink and don't make problems. When the time
comes, you put the six box cutters in the bathroom [of the plane],"
the source said.
-
- Spokesmen for the Port Authority ó which runs
Newark Airport ó and for the Federal Aviation Administration
referred
questions about the probe to the FBI.
-
- The FBI spokesman in New York, Jim Margolin, declined
to comment on whether there is a leading theory among investigators
ó
or to talk specifically about whom they've interviewed.
-
- But he said: "It would be a logical investigative
step to attempt to talk to people who came in contact with the passengers,
the crews or the planes."
-
- The FAA, meanwhile, said it was considering requiring
that airlines workers' identifications be verified, followed by new checks
of employment histories and possible criminal backgrounds.
-
- Initially, FAA officials said the order had been given.
But last night, the agency said it was still considering the idea and
hadn't
acted.
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