New York plays down helicopter terror threat

NEW YORK -- The FBI warns police that al-Qaida could use helicopters as flying bombs. The warnings make headlines. Local officials tell New Yorkers the warnings are old and nothing to panic about.

Just another day of terror reports that have left many in the city confused and others blase.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg downplayed the helicopters-as-weapons reports Monday, saying they indicated no fresh threat. Security measures including metal detectors and ID checks have been in place for people boarding New York helicopters since after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and no major changes are anticipated, Bloomberg said.

"Using an aircraft as a weapon ... is nothing new, we learned that lesson on 9-11 at enormous cost," Bloomberg said. "Ever since then you've not been able to just go and hop on a helicopter carrying anything."

As if heeding the mayor's assurances, a stream of tourists boarded sightseeing helicopters for tours of the New York area Monday.

Liz Downie of Edinburgh, Scotland, said she saw the story about the latest terror alert on TV before boarding but had no hesitation about the tour. She had just one complaint about the flight. "It was too short," she said.

John Campion of Warwick, England, also said he was not worried.

"No more than getting on any airplane," he said.

Law-enforcement officials in New York said Monday that evidence recovered in Pakistan showed that terror suspects may have photographed helicopters and taken helicopter rides to gather information about possible targets in the New York area. They said they knew of no plans to use helicopters as weapons.

The FBI sent two bulletins last week to 18,000 police and other government officials nationwide.

"Al-Qaida has apparently considered the use of helicopters as an alternative to recruiting operatives for fixed-wing aircraft," said the bulletin, sent Friday night to police and other government officials nationwide and obtained Monday by The Associated Press.

The second bulletin, also sent Friday night, said that terrorists could use a variety of rental vehicles to conceal powerful bombs, including limousines that have a larger storage capacity than rental cars.

The bulletins followed a week of heightened security after federal warnings that al-Qaida was conducting surveillance of financial targets, including some in New York.

New York authorities also are beefing up security in advance of the Republican National Convention. NJ Transit has sent an anti-terror video to its 3,000 rail workers, whose trains will undergo increased scrutiny during the convention.