FAA Airmen Registry Report - The New York Times

23 Pages·2009·1.58 MB·English

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June 2009
FINAL VERSION

Copyright 2009 Safe Banking Systems Software, LLC ("SBS").

This document may be copied and distributed without further permission provided that it is reproduced in its entirety. Permission for the
use of excerpts may be obtained by contacting SBS.

   Safe Banking Systems Software, L.L.C.                                        www.safe‐banking.com 

114 Old Country Road • Suite 320 • Mineola, NY • 11501 • USA [phone] Fax [phone]
Table of Contents:

INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................... 3
DISTRIBUTION ......................................................................................................................... 4
EXCERPTS: THE LAW AND THE 9/11 COMMISSION REPORT ........................................... 5
EXCERPTS: SUBCOMMITTEE MEMO TO SENATOR BRAD MILLER ................................. 7
EXCERPTS: FAA Documents ................................................................................................ 8
PAN AM FLIGHT 103 – LOCKERBIE, SCOTLAND ................................................................. 9
ILLEGAL MILITARY AIRCRAFT-RELATED EXPORTS TO IRAN ........................................ 13
SUPPORTING HIZBALLAH ................................................................................................... 15
POSSESSING A BIOLOGICAL WEAPON OF MASS DESTRUCTION ................................. 17
OPERATION ALCATRAZ ....................................................................................................... 19
NARCOPILOTO ...................................................................................................................... 22

FAA Airmen Registry Report
Prepared by: SBS Professional Services Page 2
Date: June 2009
INTRODUCTION

“If You See Something, Say Something” posters are peppered throughout the New York City Transit system--daily
reminders that it is each individual’s responsibility to be vigilant about possible threats to our collective safety.

We at Safe Banking Systems (“SBS”) have seen something we believe to be of a national security interest. This report is to
“Say Something,” and to ensure that it is heard by the appropriate authorities. Publicly available data indicates that the
Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) is certifying pilots, mechanics and instructors who pose a threat to our security.

Our company is in the watchlist scanning business, assisting financial institutions and corporations to comply with and
adhere to federal regulations and to combat fraud and financial crime. In simple terms our automated solution and advanced,
unique methodology identifies terrorists, drug kingpins, other high risk criminals and other persons of interest in large
databases - in minimal time and with minimal manual effort. Our success is attributable to tackling the inherent challenges in
this space with a unique approach and methods different from those used in competing applications. Our solution is able to
mine client databases containing many millions of records, with names, addresses and other information, and to highlight
individuals and entities of the highest risk, highest relevance and highest probability of being true matches.

While watchlist scanning is indeed difficult to implement, see “Note 54” below, an except from the 9/11 Report, SBS
implements leading edge techniques because difficult problems are the most gratifying ones to solve and most often prove
useful to our clients. Recently we began testing one of these new techniques entitled “Collective Entity Resolution” on a
handful of publicly available databases, including the FAA Airmen Registry.

The results were as unexpected as they are chilling.

The FAA Airmen Registry consists of certified airmen and contains approximately one million pilots, flight crew members,
mechanics, dispatchers and instructors etc. of which, approximately 150,000 are listed with foreign addresses. Because SBS
does not have access to confidential government watchlists, we make use of “open source intelligence” that is publicly
available on the internet.

Our tests ran for approximately two hours and yielded several alarming potential matches. After four days of further
investigation, by just one member of our staff, a dozen matches were confirmed beyond any doubt.

This report details six of these shocking cases of persons certified by the FAA, including:

The Lockerbie bombers, illegal dealer of F-14 parts to Iran, Hizballah supporter, producer of Biological Weapons and
major drug traffickers.

Pilots and other personnel with access in particular to commercial planes must be properly vetted. Prevention must be our
main focus. Airlines are forced to screen passengers, but that will not secure our airways and can only create a false sense of
security so long as persons such as those identified in this report retain privileged access to our commercial airplanes and
airports.

In February of this year, Mr. Harry Markopolos, a private citizen, testified before the U.S. House of Representatives,
Committee on Financial Services about the frustrations of his decade long saga of attempting to warn the SEC about the
malfeasance of Bernard Madoff,, without any success. I will not let this story become another Markopolos story. For this
reason, we deliver this message to the government officials listed below along with the media.

We have “Said Something”. I trust that someone is listening.

David M. Schiffer
President, Safe Banking Systems
Thinking Ahead of the Risks
FAA Airmen Registry Report
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Date: June 2009
DISTRIBUTION

• Janet Napolitano, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
• Ray LaHood, Secretary of the Department of Transportation (DOT)
• J. Randolph Babbitt, Chief Administrator Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
• Dennis C. Blair, Director of National Intelligence (DNI)
• Robert S. Litt, General Counsel of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence
• Christopher Kojm, Chairman of the National Intelligence Council (NIC).
• Eric Holder, Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)
• Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State, U.S. Department of State
• Kirsten Gillibrand, Senator, (NY)
• Charles E. Schumer, Senator, (NY)
• Steve Israel, Congressman, (NY-02)
• Peter T. King, Congressman, (NY-03)
• U. S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence

Democrats
− Dianne Feinstein, California, Chairman John D. Rockefeller IV, West Virginia
− Ron Wyden, Oregon Evan Bayh, Indiana
− Barbara A. Mikulski, Maryland Russell D. Feingold, Wisconsin
− Bill Nelson, Florida Sheldon Whitehouse, Rhode Island

Republicans
− Christopher S. Bond, Missouri Vice Chairman Orrin Hatch, Utah
− Olympia J. Snowe, Maine Saxby Chambliss, Georgia
− Richard Burr, North Carolina Tom Coburn, Oklahoma
− James Risch, Idaho

• House Intelligence Committee’s Terrorism Subcommittee

Democrats
Mike Thompson, Chairman, California Alcee Hastings, Vice Chair, Florida
C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, Maryland Jim Langevin, Rhode Island
Adam Schiff, California Adam Smith, Washington
Dan Boren, Oklahoma

Republicans
Mike J. Rogers, Ranking Member, Michigan Elton Gallegly, California
Sue Wilkins Myrick, North Carolina Jeff Miller, Florida
Mike Conaway, Texas
FAA Airmen Registry Report
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Date: June 2009
EXCERPTS: THE LAW AND THE 9/11 COMMISSION REPORT

The Law:

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Parts 61, 63, and 65
[Docket No.: FAA–2003–14293; Amendment
Nos. 61–108, 63–32, 65–44]
RIN 2120–AH84
Ineligibility for an Airman Certificate
Based on Security Grounds

This final rule expressly makes a person ineligible to hold FAA issued airman certificates if the
Transportation Security Administration notifies the FAA in writing that the person poses a security threat. This
action is intended to reduce the opportunity for persons to carry out terrorist acts in the aviation environment…

Airmen are in a position to exercise the privileges of their certificates in support of terrorist activities. For
example, pilots could drop chemical or biological agents from an aircraft or, as the events of September 11
demonstrated, crash aircraft into buildings. Mechanics could sabotage aircraft, and flight instructors could teach
terrorists how to operate aircraft. While a person might attempt to undertake such actions even if he or she does
not hold an airman certificate, taking action to deny, suspend, or revoke airman certification is intended to make
it more difficult to do so. In any event, persons determined by the TSA to pose a security threat are simply
unqualified to hold airman certificates…

U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Aviation Administration, National Policy
Order 2150.3B Effective Date: 10/01/07

Page 120

Chapter 6. Legal Enforcement Actions and Legal Counsel Responsibilities

Section 9. Emergency Suspension or Revocation of Certificates

d. Criteria for Emergency Action.

(4) FAA legal counsel initiates a case under 14 C.F.R. § 61.15(a) [Offenses involving alcohol or drugs]
by issuing a notice proposing certificate action. Following an informal conference, which generally is
held within 30 days of the receipt of the request for an informal conference, FAA legal counsel issues an
order ordinarily on a nonemergency basis. However, FAA legal counsel may issue an emergency order
if the circumstances of the case warrant that action. An emergency order likely is issued if the
underlying conduct is egregious (for example, drug kingpin activity) [emphasis added] or if there is
evidence of present or recent involvement in the same type of conduct. When there is an issue of
whether the order should be issued as an emergency, the case is coordinated with AGC-300.
FAA Airmen Registry Report
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Date: June 2009
The 9/11 Report

3.3 . . .AND IN THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) within the Department of Transportation had been vested by
Congress with the sometimes conflicting mandate of regulating the safety and security of U.S. civil aviation while
also promoting the civil aviation industry. The FAA had a security mission to protect the users of commercial air
transportation against terrorism and other criminal acts.

The longtime chief of the FAA's civil aviation security division testified that he was not even aware of the State
Department's TIPOFF list of known and suspected terrorists (some 60,000 before 9/11) until he heard it
mentioned during the Commission's January 26, 2004, public hearing. The FAA had access to some TIPOFF data,
but apparently found it too difficult to use.54

Note 54: “Finally, on the watchlist, officials told us that large lists were difficult to implement, particularly when
they weren't accompanied by numeric data such as date of birth that would enable an air carrier to distinguish the
terrorist from others around the world who had his or her name.”

http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/index.htm

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EXCERPTS: SUBCOMMITTEE MEMO TO SENATOR BRAD MILLER

TO: Chairman Brad Miller
Subcommittee on Investigation and Oversight
Committee on Science and Technology

FROM: Subcommittee Staff

RE: Questions regarding technical flaws, poor government oversight and potential contractor
mismanagement on the National Counterterrorism Center’s RAILHEAD information technology
development program

DATE: August 21, 2008

As numerous U.S. government investigations have revealed, most notably the National Commission on
Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States1, commonly referred to as the 9.11 Commission, one of the fundamental
failures of the law enforcement and intelligence communities to prevent the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks
was the inability to “connect the dots” and share critical terrorist intelligence data between U.S. government
agencies. As part of the 9.11 Commission’s recommendations to help rectify those failures and help prevent any
future terrorist attacks the U.S. government created the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI),
run by the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). Under the ODNI, a National Counterterrorism Center
(NCTC) was also established, which “serves as the central and shared knowledge bank on terrorism information”
and “establishes the information technology (IT) systems and architectures within the NCTC and between the
NCTC and other agencies that enable access to, as well as integration, dissemination, and use of, terrorism
information.”2

1. The official title of the 0.11 Commission is the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. The commission’s
final report is accessible at: http://www.9-11commission.gov/.

2. National Counterterrorism Center: “What We Do;” http://www.nctc.gov/about/what_we_do.html

FAA Airmen Registry Report
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EXCERPTS: FAA Documents

U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Aviation Administration, National Policy
Order 2150.3B Effective Date: 10/01/07

Page 36

Chapter 2. Compliance and Enforcement Policy and Objectives

Section 9. Publicizing Enforcement Actions.

a. General.

(1) Publicizing enforcement actions serves many interests. The public has a right to know how the FAA is
conducting its responsibilities on the public’s behalf. In addition, enforcement information about a regulated party
may be useful in making consumer choices. Publicizing enforcement actions also serves the government’s strong
interest in ensuring, through deterrence, compliance with the FAA’s regulations. Often the adverse publicity and
concomitant public reaction to regulatory violations serve more effectively to deter future violations by an entity
than the loss of funds caused by a civil penalty. And while an unpublicized civil penalty or certificate action
operates to deter future violations by the entity subjected to the enforcement action, publicizing the action acts as
a deterrent for others similarly situated. The FAA does not publicize the identity of individuals against whom it
takes enforcement actions.

Airman Directory Releasable File
June 2008

Page 2

Notes:
Only active Certificates are processed; at least 1 Certificate must be active for Airman to be in file.
FAA Airmen Registry Report
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PAN AM FLIGHT 103 – LOCKERBIE, SCOTLAND
FAA CERTIFIED AIRMEN REGISTRY1
AIRMAN # AIRMAN CERTIFICATE(S)
A0542960 ABDELBASET ALI ELMEGRAHI Type Issued On Valid As Of
PO Box 2555 Tripoli, LIBYA Aircraft Dispatcher Jun-1975 Jun-2009
DOB: 01-Apr-1952
A0584194 LAMEN KHLIFA FHIMA Type Issued On Valid As Of
Libyan Arab Airlines Aircraft Dispatcher Jan-1979 Jun-2009
PO Box 2555 Tripoli, LIBYA

FBI TEN MOST WANTED FUGITIVES LIST 2
# FUGITIVE DOB CHARGE DATES ON / OFF LIST
441 ABDEL BASSET ALI AL-MEGRAHI 01-Apr-1952 1988 Bombing of From: Mar-95
Pan Am Flight 103 To: Apr-99
442 LAMEN KHALIFA FHIMA 04-Apr-1956
over Lockerbie, Scotland

LOCKERBIE TIMELINE
DATE DESCRIPTION
Dec-1988 Pan Am Flight 103 explodes over Lockerbie, Scotland, in route to New York from London, killing 270
people. Cause is determined to be a bomb placed in unattended luggage.
Nov-1991 U.S. indicts MEGRAHI and FHIMA and accuses them of being Libyan intelligence officers operating
under cover as Libyan Arab Airlines employees.3 Libya refused to extradite the men.
Mar-1995 FBI adds both to the “Top Ten Most Wanted Fugitives” list. A four million dollar reward is offered by
the Airline Pilots and Air Transport Associations in coordination with the US Dept of State.4,5
Apr-1998 Libya agrees to turn over the accused for trial in a neutral country under Scottish law.6
Apr-1999 MEGRAHI and FHIMA surrender to authorities in The Netherlands to be tried by a Scottish Court
Jan-2001 MEGRAHI is found guilty and is, ultimately, given a 27 year sentence to be served in Scotland.
FHIMAH is found not guilty and returns to Libya.7
Aug-2003 Libya agrees to pay $2.7 billion in compensation to the victims’ families

1 https://amsrvs.registry.faa.gov/airmeninquiry
2 http://web.archive.org/web/20000815063929/www.fbi.gov/mostwant/topten/topten.pdf
3 http://web.archive.org/web/20080216045037/http://db.mipt.org/documents/Cases/91-CR-645_Indictment.pdf
4 http://web.archive.org/web/19981205233417/www.fbi.gov/mostwant/megrahi.htm
5 http://web.archive.org/web/19981206052614/www.fbi.gov/mostwant/fhimah.htm
6 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/6236538.stm
7 http://www.terrorismcentral.com/Library/Legal/HCJ/Lockerbie/LockerbieVerdict.html
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