eddieC

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Courtesy of Aero-News.net:

German Police Thwart RC Airplane Terror Plot

Authorities Say Islamists Planned At Least One Assassination Attempt

German police have taken two men into custody and searched buildings at several addresses in multiple cities, thwarting what they say was a plan to use remote-controlled airplanes to carry out terrorist attacks.

Homes were raided in Stuttgart, Munich, and Dachau, according to a report in the U.K. newspaper The Sun. Among the materials seized were technical information and other paperwork that indicated there was a "home grown" attack in the planning stages.

German authorities said that during theTuesday morningraid, police confiscated multiple model aircraft, some reportedly large enough to carry sufficient explosives to destroy a commercial building. Also seized was paperwork relating to money laundering that would allow the suspects, who are reportedly of Tunisian descent, to fund the attacks.

The authorities said that the two suspects are connected with a Jihadist organization which they declined to identify. They also did not release information about the likely targets.

Among the addresses that were raided Tuesday was one in the Munich Olympic Village. It was in that compound in 1972 that members of the Palestinian Black September movement took eleven members of the Israeli Olympic team hostage. Those athletes died during a shootout at the Munich Airport.

German officials say the country remains as a "top target" for terrorist organizations for its support of NATO operations in Afghanistan.

FMI:www.berlin.de/polizei/english.html

t-max97

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We need plane control! If there is a law against using planes then criminals will obey it right?

tailskid

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LOL!!!

on_your_six

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That is a pretty big plane to fly enough explosive to destroy a commercial building. I wonder what that plane was. Do they realize how difficult this attack would be?

t-max97

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Yes that's either a very large plane or exaggerated.

beepee

+1 on the size big enough to destroy a commercial building. Amazing.

I question also the point about a money laundering scheme. By definition that is converting dirty money into clean. If you are going to use the money for 'dirty' purposes, why bother to go the trouble and great expense of laundering it?

I guess I just don't have a criminal mind (or a reporter's pen).

Bedford

bullseye000

I think the Germans have a long tradition of looking at things and telling the world they are bigger than they actually are.

Joystick TX

bullseye000 - You are so right. I also think most terrorists could think of at least 10,000 better ways to deliver explosives than using RC planes.

Hope your weather in Batavia is cool, will be near there for a vacation and I need a break from the heat.

scottrc

Maybe a front for their money laundering operation.

topspin

I have seen some pretty large models over the years. The largest one I ever saw was an eight engine B-52 model, I think the wingspan was 170 inches or more. Anyway, if you looked inside the thing it was chock full of fuel systems, servos, receivers, and batteries. There was precious little room for any other stuff, i.e. explosives, certainly not enough to blow up a shed let alone a building. I think the Germans are exagerating a bit.Still, US lawmakers see these reports and without any knowledge of RC they start looking at ways to regulate or outlaw the hobby. it is too bad that our world is controlled by fear and ignorance.

on_your_six

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Anything is possible... an attack of this sort would require testing and technical support. Hopefully, the plot would be revealed in the early stages as this was. It takes a lot of flying experience to control a heavy aircraft... keep your eyes open and watch for such activity. Most likely this would not be at a flying field. If you see this happening in remote areas, you should report it. Best case, a couple of modelers get to show their aircraft off. Worse case, an attack is foiled, and arrests are made.

1320Fastback

Since this was reported by the media it is loosely based on facts and most likely inacurate fabrications.

A plane large enough to blow up a comercial building (assuming we're not talking about a 7-11 here) would need to be the size of a Cessna 150 or better.

chuckk2

There is a difference between blowing up and burning down. I believe it would be impossible to blow up a large building using a typical RC model aircraft.
But, a couple of pounds of Thermite or less can start quite a fire! Remember that the terrorists often use the amplifying effects of publicity to enhance results.
Let's hope key words in this don't excessively excite the powers that be! Some time ago, a popular fiction author described a plot that used a concrete mixer truck
filled with a fertilizer base mixture as a plausible improvised mobile bomb. The same author also, years before 9/11, described a plot using a hijacked airliner to do in
the congress and executive branch during a joint session for the state of the union message. I often wondered if that book was unintended inspiration for 9/11.

1320Fastback

Terrorists don't need any help in thinki g of ways to terrorize.
If its your life's passion you will think about them all on your own.

rc model deliveryif any kind is useless for their goals.