FBI Plane Mistaken For Terrorists

Well, now just what did the FBI expect? After more than a year of urging people to be on the lookout for anything suspicious, airborne or otherwise, the feds seemed surprised when the folks in Bloomington, Ill., started worrying about their Cessna 182. Never mind that the same plane has passed overhead repeatedly at various times of the day and night since Feb. 19. At first the FBI denied it was their plane but finally fessed up when pressed by reporters. Agent Thomas V. Fuentes and agent James H. Davis admitted the 182 was being used to keep track of foreign nationals in Bloomington. Just what kind of a stakeout you can manage while buzzing along in a small plane they didn’t reveal. Although they initially denied the plane was conducting electronic surveillance, the agents later said the aircraft is monitoring vehicles and businesses, particularly those open late at night from which faxes or e-mails can be sent. Unless Bloomington is in some kind of time warp, we’d wager that could be just about anywhere.