Man Charged in Model Airplane Plot To Bomb Pentagon

garymortimer writes "A 26-year-old Massachusetts man with a physics degree was arrested and charged Wednesday with plotting an attack on the Pentagon and the U.S. Capitol with remote-controlled model aircraft, authorities said. Rezwan Ferdaus, a U.S. citizen from Ashland, Massachusetts, planned to use model aircraft filled with C-4 plastic explosives. As a result of an undercover FBI investigation, Ferdaus, who has a physics degree from Northeastern University in Boston, was charged with attempting to provide material support and resources to al Qaeda for attacks on U.S. soldiers overseas. His federal public defender couldn't be reached immediately for comment."

Comments

Re:So now we're down to catching the nutcases

[RightSaidFred99]

He was going to have 6 well armed people outside the doors shooting people as they escaped. And even a small explosion would probably drive people out of the building.

Re:I predict

[C0L0PH0N]

I fly RC planes and am a member of the AMA (Academy of Model Aeronautics). Congress is working to implement new legislation to control "UAV's" (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles), which WILL legally control RC hobby airplanes. The AMA has been working with Congress and the FAA to help insure the viability and robustness of our wonderful sport, which prepares young folks for careers in avionics and space, as well as being a darned fun (and expensive :)) hobby. Here is a link to the AMA's government relations site: http://www.modelaircraft.org/aboutama/gov.aspx. This is an issue that is hot and current. Here is the current situation, which is coming to a head in the next few months, per the AMA's website: "Information received at the recent AUVSI conference indicates the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for FAA’s proposed regulation for small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) is on track for release in mid December 2011. It’s anticipated the new rule will address model aircraft operations and will provide a provision for community based organizations such as the AMA to submit their own set of standards. If adopted, these standards will provide the modeling community an alternative means of complying with the sUAS rule. At this point AMA is hard at work in developing a set of standards aimed at allowing the aeromodeling enthusiasts to continue enjoying the hobby in much the same way as they do today. ". Actions like this crazy physicist certainly don't help, but they point out the wisdom of a rational approach to a hobby that can be militarized. We'll see what happens.

Re:Did anyone tell him

[LWATCDR]

Well some remote controlled airplanes are actually pretty big. Here is one with a 12' wing span. It could lift say 7 kg with no real problem. http://www.hobby-lobby.com/telemaster12.htm Maybe cut that to 4kg and use electric power and if you covered it in light grey you no one would see it until impact. but 4 or 7 kg would kill anyone outside near the impact point. You would aim it at an entrance time the impact for say 5:50 pm in the winter so that it is dark, Sure it wouldn't blow up the entire building but it would still suck to die or have your arm or leg blown off.

Re:So now we're down to catching the nutcases

[cusco]

The walls of the Pentagram are three feet of solid ferro-concrete, they were designed to take a direct hit from a Nazi 500-pound bomb (really). The roof was later reinforced to withstand a very near miss from a Soviet nuke. I've never understood why the felt the need to cover the entire thing with kevlar, which had just been completed on the wing that was hit by the airliner. That wing had been emptied during the remodel process, almost everyone killed in the attack was in the process of moving back in.

I know far too much trivia.