Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
Leads to hang the kid!
Student Says Hid Weapons on Planes, Court Papers Say
Mon Oct 20, 5:27 PM ET Add Top Stories - Reuters to My Yahoo!
By David Morgan
BALTIMORE (Reuters) - A college student who said he hid box cutters and other banned objects on airliners to show up flaws in the security system was charged in federal court on Monday with carrying a dangerous weapon onto an aircraft.
Reuters Photo
AFP
Slideshow: Box Cutters Found on Planes
Nathaniel Heatwole, 20, a Quaker studying at Guilford College in North Carolina, was released without bail and faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 if convicted of the charges.
Court papers released before the hearing included an e-mail in which Heatwole gave an account how he carried box cutters, bleach, matches and modeling clay onto U. S. passenger airliners to highlight aviation security shortcomings.
Heatwole said he took the objects through security at Raleigh-Durham International Airport and Baltimore-Washington International Airport. They were found on two Southwest Airlines jets in Houston and New Orleans last Thursday.
Investigators say Heatwole put the items on the planes on September 12 and 14 -- over a month before they were found and just days after the two-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks in which hijackers used box cutters as weapons.
On four earlier occasions he also carried weapons onto planes, an official complaint stated, noting that on two of those occasions he left items on the planes which were found while the other two times he took the items away with him.
An affidavit from FBI (news - web sites) bomb technician Eric Morefield suggested Heatwole's personal beliefs were behind his actions. Most Quakers are pacifists and some have been known for their acts of civil disobedience.
"(Heatwole)... stated that he was aware that his actions were against the law and that he was aware of the potential consequences for his actions and that his actions were 'an act of civil disobedience with the aim of improving public safety for the air-traveling public,"' Morefield wrote.
"NOT A PRANK"
In court, Federal Magistrate Susan Gauvey read out the criminal complaint against Heatwole. When she asked the student whether he understood the charges, he responded, "Yes, your honor" in a clear, steady voice. "
The discovery of the forbidden items prompted the government to order airlines to search the entire U. S. commercial fleet of nearly 6,000 passenger planes.
"This was not a prank," U. S Attorney for Maryland Thomas DiBiagio told reporters after the brief hearing. "This was a crime that had the potential to cause serious risk to the individuals on the planes. "
According to the affidavit filed along with the criminal complaint, Heatwole sent the Transportation Security Administration an e-mail in September in which he gave details of the security-breaching six incidents, from February 7, 2003 to September 14, 2003.
According to the e-mail, Heatwole placed two box-cutters, molding clay, matches and liquid bleach in a lavatory compartment on a Southwest Airlines plane which left from Raleigh-Durham on September 12.
Two days later he passed security at Baltimore-Washington airport and put three box-cutters and other items in the lavatory of another Southwest Airlines flight.
"Amateur testing of the system like this does not in any way assist us or show us where there are flaws," Transport Security Administration Deputy Administrator Steve McHale told reporters. "It's not a setback because we review our systems every day. "
Asked about the incident during a conference call, Southwest Chief Financial Officer Gary Kelly admitted that the incident showed that aviation security is "still not perfect" despite "significant improvements. "
Gauvey set a preliminary hearing date for Nov. 10 and released Heatwole under his own recognizance. The student was ordered to forfeit his passport and told to refrain from air travel or entering an airport. (additional reporting by Deborah Charles in Washington)
Student Says Hid Weapons on Planes, Court Papers Say
Mon Oct 20, 5:27 PM ET Add Top Stories - Reuters to My Yahoo!
By David Morgan
BALTIMORE (Reuters) - A college student who said he hid box cutters and other banned objects on airliners to show up flaws in the security system was charged in federal court on Monday with carrying a dangerous weapon onto an aircraft.
Reuters Photo
AFP
Slideshow: Box Cutters Found on Planes
Nathaniel Heatwole, 20, a Quaker studying at Guilford College in North Carolina, was released without bail and faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 if convicted of the charges.
Court papers released before the hearing included an e-mail in which Heatwole gave an account how he carried box cutters, bleach, matches and modeling clay onto U. S. passenger airliners to highlight aviation security shortcomings.
Heatwole said he took the objects through security at Raleigh-Durham International Airport and Baltimore-Washington International Airport. They were found on two Southwest Airlines jets in Houston and New Orleans last Thursday.
Investigators say Heatwole put the items on the planes on September 12 and 14 -- over a month before they were found and just days after the two-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks in which hijackers used box cutters as weapons.
On four earlier occasions he also carried weapons onto planes, an official complaint stated, noting that on two of those occasions he left items on the planes which were found while the other two times he took the items away with him.
An affidavit from FBI (news - web sites) bomb technician Eric Morefield suggested Heatwole's personal beliefs were behind his actions. Most Quakers are pacifists and some have been known for their acts of civil disobedience.
"(Heatwole)... stated that he was aware that his actions were against the law and that he was aware of the potential consequences for his actions and that his actions were 'an act of civil disobedience with the aim of improving public safety for the air-traveling public,"' Morefield wrote.
"NOT A PRANK"
In court, Federal Magistrate Susan Gauvey read out the criminal complaint against Heatwole. When she asked the student whether he understood the charges, he responded, "Yes, your honor" in a clear, steady voice. "
The discovery of the forbidden items prompted the government to order airlines to search the entire U. S. commercial fleet of nearly 6,000 passenger planes.
"This was not a prank," U. S Attorney for Maryland Thomas DiBiagio told reporters after the brief hearing. "This was a crime that had the potential to cause serious risk to the individuals on the planes. "
According to the affidavit filed along with the criminal complaint, Heatwole sent the Transportation Security Administration an e-mail in September in which he gave details of the security-breaching six incidents, from February 7, 2003 to September 14, 2003.
According to the e-mail, Heatwole placed two box-cutters, molding clay, matches and liquid bleach in a lavatory compartment on a Southwest Airlines plane which left from Raleigh-Durham on September 12.
Two days later he passed security at Baltimore-Washington airport and put three box-cutters and other items in the lavatory of another Southwest Airlines flight.
"Amateur testing of the system like this does not in any way assist us or show us where there are flaws," Transport Security Administration Deputy Administrator Steve McHale told reporters. "It's not a setback because we review our systems every day. "
Asked about the incident during a conference call, Southwest Chief Financial Officer Gary Kelly admitted that the incident showed that aviation security is "still not perfect" despite "significant improvements. "
Gauvey set a preliminary hearing date for Nov. 10 and released Heatwole under his own recognizance. The student was ordered to forfeit his passport and told to refrain from air travel or entering an airport. (additional reporting by Deborah Charles in Washington)
Some how they think disarming citizens and taking away freedoms will make us safer. 
