T5 B68 Tampa Airport Qfrs Fdr- Saudi Flights- Media-business Info- 1st Pgs For Ref

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§>t Petersburg (Times TIA now verifies flight of Saudis:[SOUTH PINELLAS Edition] JEAN HELLER. St. Petersburg Times. St. Petersburg, Fla.: Jun 9, 2004. pg. l.A Full Text (1195

words)

Copyright Times Publishing Co. Jun 9, 2004 Two days after the Sept. 11 attacks, with most of the nation's air traffic still grounded, a small jet landed at Tampa International Airport, picked up three young Saudi men and left. The men, one of them thought to be a member of the Saudi royal family, were accompanied by a former FBI agent and a former Tampa police officer on the flight to Lexington, Ky. The Saudis then took another flight out of the country. The two ex-officers returned to TIA a few hours later on the same plane. For nearly three years, White House, aviation and law enforcement officials have insisted the flight never took place and have denied published reports and widespread Internet speculation about its purpose. But now, at the request of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks, TIA officials have confirmed that the flight did take place and have supplied details. The odyssey of the small LearJet 35 is part of a larger controversy over the hasty exodus from the United States in the days immediately after 9/11 of members of the Saudi royal family and relatives of Osama bin Laden. The terrorism panel, better known as the 9/11 Commission, said in April that it knew of six chartered flights with 142 people aboard, mostly Saudis, that left the United States between Sept. 14 and 24, 2001. But it has said nothing about the Tampa flight. The commission's general counsel, Daniel Marcus, asked TIA in a letter dated May 25 for any information about "a chartered flight with six people, including a Saudi prince, that flew from Tampa, Florida on or about Sept. 13, 2001." He asked for the information no later than June 8. TIA officials said they sent their reply on Monday. The airport used aircraft tracking equipment normally assigned to a noise abatement program to determine the identity of all aircraft entering TIA airspace on Sept. 13, and found four records for the LearJet 35. The plane first entered the airspace from the south, possibly from the Fort Lauderdale area, sometime after 3 p.m. and landed for the first time at 3:34 p.m. It took off at 4:37 p.m., headed north. It returned to Tampa at 8:23 p.m. and took off again at 8:48 p.m., headed south. Author Craig Unger, who first disclosed the possibility of a post- 9/11 Saudi airlift in his book House of Bush, House of Saud, said in an interview that he believes the jet came to Tampa a second time to drop off two former law enforcement agents from Tampa who accompanied three young Saudis to Lexington for security purposes. The Saudis asked the Tampa Police Department to escort the flight, but the department handed off the assignment to Dan Grossi, a former member of the force, Unger said. Grossi recruited Manuel Perez, a retired FBI agent, to accompany him. Both described the flight to Unger as

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6/25/2004

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5/24/2004

fampa airport officials confirm post-9/11 jet flight to Lexington

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Posted on Thu, Jun. 10, 2004

Tampa airport officials confirm post-9/11 jet flight to Lexington SAUDI PRINCE THOUGHT TO HAVE LEFT U.S. WHILE AIR TRAVEL RESTRICTED STAFF, WIRE REPORTS After nearly three years during which federal officials denied the story, officials at Tampa International Airport have now confirmed that a small jet flew from Tampa to Lexington just two days after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, according to a published report. Details of the flight, supplied by the Tampa airport at the request of the national Commission on Terrorist Attacks, indicate that the plane picked up three young Saudi men there and left for Lexington's Blue Grass Airport. The men, one of whom was thought to be a member of the Saudi royal family, were accompanied by a former FBI agent and a former Tampa police officer on the flight, according to an article in yesterday's editions of the St. Petersburg Times. In Lexington, the plane is believed to have picked up Saudi Prince Ahmed bin Salman, a horseman who had been attending horse sales at Keeneland, according to an account in a recent book, House of Bush, House of Saud. The book says the party then traveled to London. The story of the plane, a LearJet 35, has been a subject of Internet speculation and conspiracy theories for several months. Some, including the book's author, Craig Linger, suggest that the quick evacuation of Saudi nationals was a political favor extended by the Bush administration at a time when most air travel was restricted. Fifteen of the 19 terrorists who hijacked airplanes on Sept. 11 were Saudi. As far as Lexington's Blue Grass Airport is concerned, spokesman Tom Tyra said that commercial flights were cleared to resume on Thursday, Sept. 13, shortly after noon — hours before the Saudi plane apparently took off. The first flight left Blue Grass, bound for Atlanta, at 12:50 p.m. that day, he said. Lexington was the 12th airport in the nation given clearance to resume flights after the terrorist attacks, Tyra said. While small private planes remained grounded for some time after Sept. 11, Tyra said it's his understanding that larger general aviation aircraft, such as corporate jets and "special circumstances" flights, were given clearance to leave Blue Grass Airport and other airports on a case-by-case basis by the FAA. The Saudi plane wasn't the only one to leave on Sept. 13 and through the weekend immediately following Sept. 11, Tyra said. Other large private planes -- from places such as Dubai, France and Spain -- were at the airport for the September sale at Keeneland. Many of them left on Friday and during the weekend, Tyra said. However, getting a flight out of Tampa might have been more complicated. The St. Petersburg Times' story quoted FAA spokes-man William Shumann as suggesting that air travel was being limited at the time to paid charter flights, but not private, non-revenue flights. The legality of the LearJet flight "hinges on whether somebody paid for it," Shumann told the newspaper. "That's the key." For nearly three years, officials with the White House, the Federal Aviation Administration and law enforcement have insisted that the flights did not happen. The FAA declined to comment to the Florida newspaper about the Tampa airport's disclosure. So did the FBI and the 9/11 commission.

http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/state/8885976.htm?template=contentModul... 6/14/2004

*FULL TEXT*** 1. 9-11 Probe Up in Air on Osama Kin Flights JAMES GORDON MEEK The New York Daily News The 9/11 commission is no longer certain that Saudis - including members of Osama Bin Laden's family - did not fly out of the country immediately after the terror attacks when all aircraft were grounded, officials said yesterday. In recent weeks, the panel's investigators have scrambled to re-interview current and former FBI leaders about the flights at the request of lawmakers, sources said. "In trying to get to the bottom of [the Saudi flights], you find a lot of difficulty navigating that murky, sludge-filled bottom," said commissioner Tim Roemer, a former Democratic lawmaker who is leading the renewed effort. "There are just not a lot of solid answers on this." The FBI officials have been pressed in private by Roemer and staff investigators to say if the Saudis were given special permission to fly around the U.S. and out of its air space before it reopened to commercial planes on Sept. 13, the sources said. "They're exploring both possibilities," said one source who has been quizzed by the panel. The FBI's former counterterror chief, Dale Watson, and former Acting FBI Director Tom Pickard were among those re-interviewed by the commission, sources said. No evidence has been presented publicly indicating the Saudis were allowed to fly before the air space was reopened. But one lingering issue concerns private investigators who were hired to fly Saudis on Sept. 13 from Tampa, Fla., to Lexington, Ky. At the time, only commercial planes were allowed to take off, not private planes. FBI officials have said that air space restrictions forced the group to drive to Lexington, where Prince Ahmed, owner of the Thoroughbred War Emblem, waited. Tampa International Airport released electronic records yesterday that they gave to the commission indicating the Saudis did indeed fly from Tampa. "We identified the aircraft the commission was asking about," said airport spokeswoman Brenda Geoghagan. FBI officials indicated that they were unconcerned with the departure of the Saudis, including Bin Laden's family members. The FBI repeatedly had dangled a $5 million reward in front of Bin Laden's siblings who were living in the U.S. before 9/11 for help in tracking down the terrorist. "We started every conversation with, 'Hey, how'd you like to make $5 million?' They'd just look at us, like, 'Are you kidding?1" said a top FBI source. The wealthy family members convinced the feds they had no information about their brother and at least one even encouraged them to nail Bin Laden.

June 8, 2004 - Press Clips June 9, 2004 2. TIA now verifies flight of Saudis JEAN HELLER

The St. Petersburg Times Two days after the Sept. 11 attacks, with most of the nation's air traffic still grounded, a small jet landed at Tampa International Airport, picked up three young Saudi men and left. The men, one of them thought to be a member of the Saudi royal family, were accompanied by a former FBI agent and a former Tampa police officer on the flight to Lexington, Ky. The Saudis then took another flight out of the country. The two ex-officers returned to TIA a few hours later on the same plane. For nearly three years, White House, aviation and law enforcement officials have insisted the flight never took place and have denied published reports and widespread Internet speculation about its purpose. But now, at the request of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks, TIA officials have confirmed that the flight did take place and have supplied details. The odyssey of the small LearJet 35 is part of a larger controversy over the hasty exodus from the United States in the days immediately after 9/11 of members of the Saudi royal family and relatives of Osama bin Laden. The terrorism panel, better known as the 9/11 Commission, said in April that it knew of six chartered flights with 142 people aboard, mostly Saudis, that left the United States between Sept. 14 and 24, 2001. But it has said nothing about the Tampa flight. The commission's general counsel, Daniel Marcus, asked TIA in a letter dated May 25 for any information about "a chartered flight with six people, including a Saudi prince, that flew from Tampa, Florida on or about Sept. 13, 2001." He asked for the information no later than June 8. TIA officials said they sent their reply on Monday. The airport used aircraft tracking equipment normally assigned to a noise abatement program to determine the identity of all aircraft entering TIA airspace on Sept. 13, and found four records for the LearJet 35. The plane first entered the airspace from the south, possibly from the Fort Lauderdale area, sometime after 3 p.m. and landed for the first time at 3:34 p.m. It took off at 4:37 p.m., headed north. It returned to Tampa at 8:23 p.m. and took off again at 8:48 p.m., headed south. Author Craig Unger, who first disclosed the possibility of a post-9/11 Saudi airlift in his book House of Bush, House of Saud, said in an interview that he believes the jet came to Tampa a second time to drop off two former law enforcement agents from Tampa who accompanied three young Saudis to Lexington for security purposes. The Saudis asked the Tampa Police Department to escort the flight, but the department handed off the assignment to Dan Grossi, a former member of the force, Unger said. Gross! recruited Manuel Perez, a retired FBI agent, to accompany him. Both described the flight to Unger as somewhat surreal.

Business Wire: Spirit Airlines Update 11 am - Thursday, Sept. 13, 2001.

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Spirit Airlines Update 11 am - Thursday, Sept. 13, 2001. Business Wire, Sept 13, 2001

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Business & Travel Editors FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-Sept. 13, 2001 Spirit Airlines expects to resume a limited schedule today, (complete schedule below)

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hours prior to scheduled departure. We appreciate the understanding and patience of each and every member of the travelling public. We will do our best to minimize delays; however, expect long lines as well as heightened security measures. We ask each and every passenger to be patient and understanding as all of the new measures have been put in place for the safety and

accommodating plans, please call reservations number at 1-800-772-

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security of passengers, crew, and airport personnel. For more information on flight status or to make any re-

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We continue to work with the FAA and Federal Authorities and are

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pleased that the airspace has opened so that we can serve our passengers. We plan to fly as much of our schedule as possible on Friday, September 14, 2001 and ask passengers to continue to check our website for detailed information.

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Spirit Airlines plans to fly the following schedule today, Thursday, Content pi partners

September 13, 2001 with other flights having been cancelled: From

Atlantic City

To

Myrtle Beach

Flight

Planned

Planned

Number

Deprtre

Arrival

619

11:00AM

12:25PM

Atlantic City

Ft. Lauderdale

1265

4:10PM

6:50PM

Atlantic City

Ft. Myers

945

1:30PM

4:15PM

http://www.fmdarticles.com/cf_dls/mOEIN/2001^Sept 13/78228440/pl/article.jhtml

THOIV —* GAI

5/24/2004

AirTran Airways to Resume Limited Flight Schedule Thursday Afternoon BW2164

SEP 13,2001

11:26 PACIFIC

Page 1 of4

14:26 EASTERN

(BW)(FL-AIRTRAN-AIRWAYS)(AAI) AirTran Airways to Resume Limited Flight Schedule Thursday Afternoon Business & Travel Editors ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-Sept 13, 2001--AirTran Airways (NYSE:AAI) announced this morning, Thursday, September 13, 2001, plans to resume limited flight operations starting at approximately 2:00 p.m. Eastern time. AirTran Airways plans to operate to the following cities today: Atlanta, GA (ATL) Buffalo-Niagara, NY Dayton, OH Fort Walton Beach, FL

Akron-Canton, OH Chicago (Midway, IL Flint, MI Greensboro-High Point -Winston Salem, NC Jacksonville, FL Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN Newark, NJ New York (LaGuardia), NY Pittsburgh, PA Tampa, FL

Houston (Hobby), TX Miami, FL Myrtle Beach, SC Newport News-Williamsburg, VA Philadelphia, PA Savannah-Hilton Head, SC Washington (Dulles), DC

Bloomington-Normal, IL Dallas-Fort Worth, TX Fort Lauderdale, FL Gulfport-Biloxi, MS Memphis, TN Moline-Quad Cities, IL-IA New Orleans, LA Orlando, FL Raleigh-Durham, NC Toledo, OH

AirTran Airways plans to operate the following flights today: FLT NO.

ORG

DEST

DEP

ARR

146 554 107 710 111 77 570 941 723 258

ATL ATL ATL ATL ATL ATL ATL ATL ATL ATL

BMI BUF CAR DAY DFW DFW EWR FLL FLL FNT

2235 1950 2225 2035 1935 2230 2225 1935 2220 1725

2320 2150 2359 2205 2051 2345 35 2125 5 1915

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5/24/2004