Logan International Airport

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Boston Logan International Airport General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport
File:KBOS Aerial NGS.jpg
IATA : none – ICAO : none
Summary
Airport type		Public
Elevation AMSL		20 ft / 6 m
Coordinates		42°21′47″N 071°00′23″W
Statistics (2008)
Aircraft operations			371,604
Passengers			26,102,651
Source: FAA, Massport.

Lead

General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport is one of the 20 busiest airports in the U.S., with over 26 million passengers a year.

It covers 2,384 acres (965 ha), has six runways, and employs an estimated 16,000 people. The airport has service to destinations in the United States, as well as Canada, the Caribbean, Europe, and Mexico. The distinctive central control tower, nearly a dozen stories high, is a local landmark with its pair of segmented elliptical pylons and a six-story platform trussed between them.

Boston Logan Airport is the 12th busiest airport in the USA based on international traffic. This is mainly because of the lack of variety of international departures throughout other New England airports. In 2005, it handled 3,902,000 international passengers. Logan is the largest airport in New England. Currently New England’s largest transportation center, Logan ranks 20th in the nation in passenger volume and 19th in flight movements, employs approximately 16,000 direct workers and stimulates the New England regional economy by approximately $7.6 billion per year, generating $559.4 million in state and local tax receipts.

Timeline

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1991-2000: Airport Later Used by Ten Hijackers Has Poor Security Record and Lacks Surveillance Cameras

Virginia Buckingham [Source: Publicity photo] Data compiled by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) shows that over this period Boston’s Logan Airport has one of the worst records for security among major US airports. Flight 11 and Flight 175 depart from Logan on 9/11. While it is only America’s eighteenth busiest airport, it has the fifth highest number of security violations. FAA agents testing its passenger screening are able to get 234 guns and inert hand grenades and bombs past its checkpoint guards or through its X-ray machines. Though it is possible that the high number of violations is because the FAA tests more frequently at Logan than elsewhere, an official later quoted by the Boston Globe says lax security is the only explanation, as all checkpoints at every major airport are meant to be tested monthly. In contrast, Newark Airport, from where Flight 93 departs on 9/11, has an above average security record. Washington’s Dulles Airport, from where Flight 77 takes off, is below average, though not as bad as Logan. Officials familiar with security at Logan will, after 9/11, point to various flaws. For example, the State Police office has no video surveillance of the airport’s security checkpoints, boarding gates, ramp areas, or perimeter entrances. [BOSTON GLOBE, 9/26/2001] Security cameras had been put into use at most US airports in the mid-1980s. When Virginia Buckingham takes over as executive director of Massachusetts Port Authority in 1999, she is surprised at the lack of cameras at Logan, and orders them that year. Yet by 9/11, they still will not have been installed. [BOSTON HERALD, 9/29/2001; BOSTON GLOBE, 9/30/2001] In spite of Logan’s poor security record, after 9/11 the Boston Globe will report, “[A]viation specialists have said it is unlikely that more rigorous attention to existing rules would have thwarted the 10 hijackers who boarded two jets at Logan on Sept. 11.” [BOSTON GLOBE, 10/17/2001] Entity Tags: Newark International Airport, Washington Dulles International Airport, Virginia Buckingham, Federal Aviation Administration, Logan Airport Timeline Tags: Complete 911 Timeline

1997-September 1999: FAA Finds Repeated Security Violations at Airport Later Used by Ten Hijackers The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) finds at least 136 security violations at Boston’s Logan Airport between 1997 and early 1999. Flights 11 and 175 will depart from Logan on 9/11. Massachusetts Port Authority, which operates the airport, is fined $178,000 for these breaches, which include failing to screen baggage properly and easy access to parked planes. In summer 1999, a teenager is able to climb over the airport’s security fence, walk two miles across the tarmac, board a 747, and fly on it to London. In September 1999, the Boston Globe finds that doors are often left open at the airport, making it possible for potentially anyone to gain access to planes on the ground. [BOSTON GLOBE, 9/12/2001; WASHINGTON POST, 9/12/2001] After 9/11, an analysis by the Boston Globe will conclude that Logan’s security record is “dismal” (see 1991-2000). [BOSTON GLOBE, 9/26/2001] Entity Tags: Massachusetts Port Authority, Logan Airport, Federal Aviation Administration Timeline Tags: Complete 911 Timeline

May 7-July 24, 2001: Risk Management Specialist Warns Senator John Kerry of Possible ‘Coordinated Attack’

Brian Sullivan. [Source: PBS] Brian Sullivan, a retired Federal Aviation Administration risk management specialist, writes a letter to Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.), concerned about an alarming lack of security at Boston’s Logan Airport. Flights 11 and 175 take off from Logan on 9/11. [ASSOCIATED PRESS, 9/14/2001; VILLAGE VOICE, 9/15/2004] The previous night a local TV station aired a report of an undercover investigation, which found that, nine times out of 10, a crew was able to get knives and other weapons through Logan’s security checkpoints, including the ones later used by the 9/11 hijackers. Sullivan writes: “With the concept of jihad, do you think it would be difficult for a determined terrorist to get on a plane and destroy himself and all other passengers? Think what the result would be of a coordinated attack which took down several domestic flights on the same day. With our current screening, this is more than possible. It is almost likely.” Following his letter, Sullivan has a videotape of the TV investigation hand-delivered to Kerry’s office. [INSIGHT ON THE NEWS, 6/17/2002; 9/11 COMMISSION, 2/11/2004, PP. 4; NEW YORK POST, 3/15/2004] After 9/11, Kerry will say that his response was to pass the letter and videotape to the General Accounting Office, and consequently it began an undercover investigation into the matter. [ASSOCIATED PRESS, 9/14/2001; BOSTON GLOBE, 9/15/2001] Sullivan will confirm Kerry having responded to his letter, and having asked the Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General to look into the matter. He comments, “I think Sen. Kerry did get it to the right people and they were about to take action.” [MSNBC, 9/16/2001] However, in the run-up to the 2004 presidential election where Kerry is the Democratic candidate, Sullivan will accuse him of having done “the Pontius Pilate thing and passed the buck.” An article in the right-wing New York Post will claim that Kerry’s only response to Sullivan was a brief letter towards the end of July 2001, and says Sullivan’s letter to him had made clear that the Department of Transportation was ineffective in responding to complaints about security problems. [NEW YORK POST, 3/15/2004] Entity Tags: Logan Airport, Brian Sullivan, John Kerry Timeline Tags: Complete 911 Timeline

September 5-11, 2001: Hijackers’ Car Repeatedly Visits Boston’s Logan Airport A car rented by some of the 9/11 hijackers is recorded several times on surveillance cameras going in and out of the parking lot at Boston’s Logan Airport in the days before the attacks, and is finally left at the parking lot on the morning of September 11 (see (6:45 a.m.) September 11, 2001). The car is a white Mitsubishi sedan that has been leased from an Alamo franchise in Springfield, Massachusetts. It is found after the attacks, on the evening of September 11, and contains a “ramp pass” enabling access to restricted areas of Logan Airport. Time magazine will speculate that “someone was reconnoitering with accomplices who worked on the planes, who could plant weapons onboard.” [USA TODAY, 9/13/2001; WASHINGTON POST, 9/14/2001; BOSTON GLOBE, 9/17/2001; TIME, 9/24/2001] Entity Tags: Logan Airport Timeline Tags: Complete 911 Timeline

September 8, 2001: Suspicious Visitors Try to Enter Boston Airport Control Tower

The air traffic control tower at Logan Airport. [Source: Public Domain] Several unidentified Middle Eastern men try unsuccessfully to get a tour of the air traffic control tower at Boston’s Logan Airport, while, later in the day, a Middle Eastern man is able to enter the tower and look around. In the first incident, around late morning or early afternoon, four or five Middle Eastern men approach an air traffic controller in the parking area while he is on a cigarette break. The controller will later describe two of the men as “approximately 38 to 42 years of age,” while the others are “approximately 30 to 34 years of age.” One of the older men has a mustache, and all of them are dressed casually. The men ask the controller to let them have a tour of the control tower, but he refuses. After a brief conversation, he gives the men a phone number to call if they want a tour. Later on this day, during the evening, a Middle Eastern man who introduces himself as a pilot is able to enter and tour the tower. The man is able to get to the tower’s 19th floor, even though access to that floor is restricted. Officials later surmise that he waited in one of the elevators until an employee on the 19th floor called for it, and then the employee went down after the Middle Eastern man got off. The man enters a room where some controllers are on break. When the controllers ask the man what he is doing, he says he is a pilot who wants a tour of the tower cab. An unnamed source will later describe: “He showed some ID, said he was a pilot, and because it was not a busy time, they said OK. It is not that unusual for a pilot to get a tour.” The man heads up the stairs to the tower cab where he spends about 15 minutes and engages the controllers there in conversation. He says he lives in Haverhill and has family in Afghanistan, and then leaves on his own. The two incidents on this day will be recalled as suspicious after the 9/11 attacks, but the identity of the Middle Eastern men will not be established. [BOSTON GLOBE, 9/16/2001; BOSTON GLOBE, 9/17/2001; 9/11 COMMISSION, 2003] Entity Tags: Logan Airport Timeline Tags: Complete 911 Timeline

September 9, 2001: Mohamed Atta Witnessed Behaving Suspiciously at Logan Airport At Boston’s Logan Airport, during the morning, businesswoman Jan Shineman is checking in for Flight 11 to Los Angeles, when she notices a man resembling Mohamed Atta behaving suspiciously. She later recalls him wearing “summery, holiday-type clothes… and he had no baggage, just a folder with a notebook.” She sees him again at the gate for Flight 11, “taking notes, watching the pilots in the cockpit through the window by the gate. They were running through their pre-flight checks.” She decides, “if he had boarded I would have told the captain about him, he was so odd and frightening.” [GUARDIAN, 7/5/2002; CORBIN, 2003, PP. 229] Atta will return to Logan Airport and board Flight 11 to Los Angeles on 9/11. [9/11 COMMISSION, 7/24/2004, PP. 1-2] Entity Tags: Logan Airport, Jan Shineman, Mohamed Atta Timeline Tags: Complete 911 Timeline, 9/11 Timeline

(6:20 a.m.-6:53 a.m.) September 11, 2001: Two Flight 175 Hijackers Check in at United Airlines Ticket Counter; Uncertainty Over Their Identities Two of the Flight 175 hijackers approach a customer service representative at the United Airlines ticket counter at Boston’s Logan Airport. The two appear unaccustomed to traveling. One tells the representative, Gail Jawahir, that he needs a ticket, though upon examining his documents she finds he already has one. Both men have problems answering standard security questions, which Jawahir has to repeat very slowly until they give the routine, reassuring answers. There is conflicting evidence over their identities. Jawahir will place her encounter with the men at “shortly before 7 a.m.” Shown photos of the alleged hijackers after 9/11, she will indicate that one of the two she encountered resembled Mohand Alshehri, suggesting the two were Alshehri and Fayez Ahmed Banihammad, who checked in at 6:53 a.m. Yet she recalls the two having the same last name and having assigned seats on Row 9 of the plane, suggesting they were Ahmed and Hamza Alghamdi, who checked in at 6:20 a.m. [9/11 COMMISSION, 7/24/2004, PP. 2, 451; 9/11 COMMISSION, 8/26/2004, PP. 17-18, 89 ] Entity Tags: Logan Airport, United Airlines, Hamza Alghamdi, Mohand Alshehri, Fayez Ahmed Banihammad, Ahmed Alghamdi, Gail Jawahir Timeline Tags: Complete 911 Timeline, 9/11 Timeline

(6:20 a.m.-7:27 a.m.) September 11, 2001: Flight 175 Hijackers Check In at Airport and Board Plane; None Selected for Additional Security Scrutiny All five Flight 175 hijackers reportedly check in at Boston’s Logan Airport, pass through a security checkpoint, and board their plane during this period. [9/11 COMMISSION, 8/26/2004, PP. 89 ] The FAA has a program in place called CAPPS, which selects passengers for more thorough security screening based on suspicious behavior such as buying a one-way ticket or paying with cash (see (6:20 a.m.-7:48 a.m.) September 11, 2001). Although reports claim that between two and five of the Flight 175 hijackers have one-way tickets, none are selected by CAPPS. [WORLDNETDAILY, 4/24/2002; US CONGRESS, 9/26/2002; US CONGRESS, 9/26/2002; WASHINGTON POST, 1/28/2004; 9/11 COMMISSION, 8/26/2004, PP. 18 ] Two of them have problems answering security questions at the ticket counter (see (6:20 a.m.-6:53 a.m.) September 11, 2001). At the security checkpoint, all five would pass through a walk-through metal detector, and an X-ray machine would screen their carry-on luggage. But Logan Airport has no video surveillance of its checkpoints (see 1991-2000), so there is no documentary evidence of exactly when they go through, or how they are processed. Jennifer Gore, the young supervisor overseeing the checkpoint, is later unable to recall seeing any of them. The Globe and Mail will explain, “[S]he was trained to look for metal bits in bags and in clothes, not people.” [GLOBE AND MAIL, 9/7/2002; 9/11 COMMISSION, 7/24/2004, PP. 2; 9/11 COMMISSION, 8/26/2004, PP. 18 ] Entity Tags: Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System, Logan Airport, Jennifer Gore, Federal Aviation Administration Timeline Tags: Complete 911 Timeline, 9/11 Timeline

6:45 a.m. September 11, 2001: Hijacker’s Connecting Flight Arrives in Boston Mohamed Atta and Abdulaziz Alomari’s Portland-Boston flight arrives on time at Boston’s Logan Airport. [DER SPIEGEL, 2002] They cross a parking lot on their way to the departure terminal for Flight 11, and are observed asking for directions. The other three Flight 11 hijackers arrive at Logan in a rented car around this same time (see (6:45 a.m.) September 11, 2001). [9/11 COMMISSION, 8/26/2004, PP. 5 ] Entity Tags: Mohamed Atta, Abdulaziz Alomari, Logan Airport Timeline Tags: Complete 911 Timeline, 9/11 Timeline

(6:45 a.m.) September 11, 2001: Hijackers Cause Trouble at Logan Airport; Have Flight Training Manuals in Car Flight 11 hijackers Waleed Alshehri, Wail Alshehri, and Satam Al Suqami arrive at Boston’s Logan Airport in a rental car, which they park in the airport’s central parking lot. [9/11 COMMISSION, 8/26/2004, PP. 5 ] According to the News of the World, a man who arrives at Logan at “about 6:30 a.m.” for an early flight, has an argument with several Middle Eastern men over a parking space, before moving on. Some early press reports say his confrontation is with five men. [DAILY TELEGRAPH, 9/13/2001; ABC NEWS, 9/14/2001; NEWS OF THE WORLD, 9/16/2001] However, the 9/11 Commission will later describe the incident differently. It says there are just three Middle Eastern men, and the man ends up parked next to them. One of them opens his car door to get out then spends time “fiddling with his things,” thus trapping the man in his car. Eventually he has to force his way out, but the Middle Eastern men are completely unresponsive to him, saying nothing. The man will report the incident to authorities after hearing of the attacks. However, whether he identifies the men as Flight 11 hijackers is unstated. The hijackers’ car, which is associated with either Wail or Waleed Alshehri, will be found in the lot later in the day of 9/11. [9/11 COMMISSION, 8/26/2004, PP. 85 ] Inside the car, a Mitsubishi sedan rented from National Rental Car, are found Arabic-language flight training manuals. [ASSOCIATED PRESS, 9/12/2001; BOSTON HERALD, 9/12/2001; DAILY TELEGRAPH, 9/13/2001] Entity Tags: Wail Alshehri, Waleed M. Alshehri, Satam Al Suqami, Logan Airport Timeline Tags: Complete 911 Timeline, 9/11 Timeline

(6:45 a.m.-7:40 a.m.) September 11, 2001: Three Flight 11 Hijackers Selected for Additional Screening When They Pass through Airport Security During this period, all five Flight 11 hijackers check in at Boston’s Logan Airport and board their plane, bound for Los Angeles. The FAA has a program in place called the Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System (CAPPS), which is designed to identify those passengers most likely requiring additional scrutiny by airport security (see (6:20 a.m.-7:48 a.m.) September 11, 2001). Ticket records will show that CAPPS selects three of the Flight 11 hijackers at Logan: Since Waleed Alshehri checks no bags his selection has no consequences; Wail Alshehri and Satam Al Suqami have their bags scanned for explosives, but are not stopped. All five hijackers would need to pass through a security checkpoint to reach the departure gate for their flight. Each would have been screened as they walked through a metal detector calibrated to detect items with at least the metal content of a small-caliber handgun. If they’d set this off, they would have been screened with a handheld metal detector. An X-ray machine would have screened their carry-on luggage. However, Logan Airport has no video surveillance of its security checkpoints (see 1991-2000), so there is no documentary evidence of exactly when they pass through them, or if alarms are triggered. According to the 9/11 Commission, none of the checkpoint supervisors later recall seeing any of the Flights 11 hijackers, or report anything suspicious having occurred. [9/11 COMMISSION, 1/27/2004; 9/11 COMMISSION, 7/24/2004, PP. 1-2; 9/11 COMMISSION, 8/26/2004, PP. 5-6 ] However, a WorldNetDaily article will claim that some Logan staff members recall seeing Mohamed Atta (see (6:50 a.m.-7:40 a.m.) September 11, 2001). [WORLDNETDAILY, 9/21/2001] The Boston Globe will later comment, “aviation specialists have said it is unlikely that more rigorous attention to existing rules would have thwarted the 10 hijackers who boarded two jets at Logan on Sept. 11. At the time, the knives and box-cutters they were carrying were permitted.” [BOSTON GLOBE, 10/17/2001] Entity Tags: Satam Al Suqami, Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System, Wail Alshehri, Federal Aviation Administration, Logan Airport, Waleed M. Alshehri Timeline Tags: Complete 911 Timeline, 9/11 Timeline

(6:50 a.m.-7:40 a.m.) September 11, 2001: Mohamed Atta Observed at Logan Airport Running Late for Plane? According to an article on the conservative news website WorldNetDaily, alleged lead hijacker Mohamed Atta almost misses Flight 11 and has to rush to the departure gate at Boston’s Logan Airport. The article is based on the account of an unnamed American Airlines employee at Logan, and claims Atta is running late because his connecting flight from Portland was delayed (see (6:00 a.m.) September 11, 2001). However, the 9/11 Commission claims that this plane was “on time,” and says Atta is observed at Logan with Abdulaziz Alomari, asking for directions in a parking lot (see 6:45 a.m. September 11, 2001). The employee says that at the baggage check-in, when asked security questions, Atta claims he does not speak English. A supervisor is called for, who just sends him towards the departure gate, as it is close to his plane’s take-off time. Atta rushes through the security checkpoint, then down to the gate, where he shows up perspiring. The employee comments, “The nitwit. You know, they’d been planning it for five years, and he’s running late for the flight.” An American Airlines spokeswoman will refuse to comment on this account, saying all American employees have been ordered not to speak to the press. [WORLDNETDAILY, 9/21/2001; 9/11 COMMISSION, 8/26/2004, PP. 3, 5 ] Entity Tags: Logan Airport, Mohamed Atta Timeline Tags: Complete 911 Timeline, 9/11 Timeline

6:52 a.m.-6:55 a.m. September 11, 2001: Call Placed from Payphone at Logan to Atta’s Cell Phone A three-minute call is made from a payphone at Boston’s Logan Airport, in the gate area from where Flight 175 will later depart, to Mohamed Atta’s cell phone. The 9/11 Commission will report, “We presume Shehhi [i.e., Marwan Alshehhi] made the call, but we cannot be sure.” According to the commission, this is Atta and Alshehhi’s final conversation. [9/11 COMMISSION, 7/24/2004, PP. 1, 451; 9/11 COMMISSION, 8/26/2004, PP. 4 ] According to other reports, though, they later speak again briefly by cellphone while waiting for their planes to take off (see (Before 7:59 a.m.) September 11, 2001). [NEW YORK TIMES, 11/4/2001; TIME, 8/4/2002] Entity Tags: Mohamed Atta, Marwan Alshehhi, Logan Airport Timeline Tags: Complete 911 Timeline, 9/11 Timeline

(7:30 a.m.) September 11, 2001: Gate Agent Asks If Atta’s Luggage Has Been Loaded onto Flight 11 A gate agent at Logan Airport in Boston calls Donald Bennett, the crew chief for Flight 11, and asks him if the two suitcases of a passenger who has just boarded the plane have arrived from US Airways. Bennett replies that the suitcases, which belong to lead hijacker Mohamed Atta, have arrived, but Flight 11’s baggage compartment has already been locked for departure, so they will not be loaded. Atta flew from Portland to Boston on a Colgan Air flight operated for US Airways (see (6:00 a.m.) September 11, 2001). American Airlines baggage expediter Philip Depasquale will later claim that bags from US Airways are always late, and so this problem is a common occurrence. The luggage is turned over to Depasquale to have it sent to Los Angeles on another flight. According to Salvatore Misuraca, a ramp service manager for American Airlines at Logan Airport, gate agents do not usually call about a bag unless the passenger that owns it has specifically asked about it, to ensure that their bags have been put on their flight. Atta’s luggage will remain at Logan Airport and be found after the attacks, revealing important clues (see September 11-13, 2001). [FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, 9/11/2001; FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, 9/17/2001; 9/11 COMMISSION, 2/10/2004] Entity Tags: Mohamed Atta, Salvatore P. Misuraca, Philip Depasquale, American Airlines, Donald Bennett, Logan Airport Timeline Tags: Complete 911 Timeline

(7:59 a.m.) September 11, 2001: Flight 11 Is Late Taking Off

A map of the paths all hijacked planes and relevant fighters take on the morning of 9/11. [Source: Yvonne Vermillion/ MagicGraphix.com] (click image to enlarge) Flight 11 takes off from Boston’s Logan Airport, 14 minutes after its scheduled 7:45 departure time. [WASHINGTON POST, 9/12/2001; CNN, 9/17/2001; LOS ANGELES TIMES, 9/20/2001; GUARDIAN, 10/17/2001; ABC NEWS, 7/18/2002; ASSOCIATED PRESS, 8/21/2002; NEWSDAY, 9/10/2002; 9/11 COMMISSION, 6/17/2004] Entity Tags: Logan Airport Timeline Tags: Complete 911 Timeline, 9/11 Timeline

8:14 a.m. September 11, 2001: Flight 175 Takes Off 16 Minutes Late Flight 175 takes off from Boston’s Logan Airport, 16 minutes after its scheduled 7:58 departure time. [WASHINGTON POST, 9/12/2001; CNN, 9/17/2001; GUARDIAN, 10/17/2001; ASSOCIATED PRESS, 8/21/2002; NEWSDAY, 9/10/2002] Entity Tags: Logan Airport Timeline Tags: Complete 911 Timeline, 9/11 Timeline

September 11, 2001: Weapons Found on Additional Planes Indicate Possible inside Help for Hijackers Later in the day of 9/11, weapons are found planted on board three US airplanes. A US official will say, “These look like inside jobs.” Time magazine will later report, “Sources tell Time that US officials are investigating whether the hijackers had accomplices deep inside the airports’ ‘secure’ areas.” [TIME, 9/22/2001] Penetrating airport security does not appear to have been that difficult: Argenbright, the company in charge of security at all the airports used by the hijackers, had virtually no security check on any of its employees, and even hired criminals and illegal immigrants. Security appears to be particularly abysmal at Boston’s Logan Airport, even after 9/11. [BOSTON GLOBE, 10/1/2001; CNN, 10/12/2001] An FAA official had similar concerns about two other security contractors at Logan Airport: Huntleigh USA, a subsidiary of ICTS International NV, a large Israeli security company, and Globe Aviation. [ASSOCIATED PRESS, 9/11/2001; CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR, 1/8/2002; 9/11 COMMISSION, 3/11/2004, PP. 6 ] Entity Tags: Globe Aviation Services Corp., Huntleigh Corp., Logan Airport, Argenbright, ICTS International N.V. Timeline Tags: Complete 911 Timeline, 9/11 Timeline

September 26, 2001: Somali Immigrant Linked to Hijackers Detained; Any 9/11 Role Unclear Mohamed Abdi, a 44-year-old Somali immigrant whose phone number was found in a car belonging to one the 9/11 hijackers, is detained without bail in Alexandria, Va. On September 12, 2001, FBI investigators discovered a car registered to 9/11 hijacker Nawaf Alhazmi at Dulles Airport (see September 11-13, 2001). In the car, they found a Washington-area map with the name “Mohumad” and a Virginia phone number belonging to Mohamed Abdi. At the court hearing, an FBI investigator says that Abdi has not explained the finding and is suspected of being linked to the hijackers. FBI Special Agent Kevin W. Ashby also testifies that an article on Ahmed Ressam was found in Abdi’s clothing. Ressam was convicted of trying to bomb Los Angeles Airport in 2000 (see December 14, 1999). According to press reports, Abdi is not cooperating with police. He came to the United States in 1993 as a refugee. He later brought his wife and four children to the US and obtained US citizenship. Shortly after his arrival, Abdi worked for Caterair, a food service company at Reagan National Airport. At the time of his arrest, Abdi had been working as a low-paid security guard for Burns Security for seven years. Burns does not provide airport security services, however, a Burns subsidiary called Globe Aviation Services provides screening services at several US airports, including the American Airlines concourse at Boston’s Logan Airport, from which one of the hijacked flights took off (see October 10, 2001). Abdi, who has had financial difficulties for some time, is charged with check forgery. He is accused of forging his landlord’s signature to obtain a government housing subsidy. No terrorism charges are filed. [US DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA, 9/23/2001 ; WASHINGTON POST, 9/27/2001 ; HUMAN EVENTS, 10/15/2001; HUMAN EVENTS, 10/15/2001] In January 2002, Abdi will receive a four-month sentence for forgery. Any link he may have had with the hijackers will remain unclear. [WASHINGTON POST, 1/12/2002] Entity Tags: Globe Aviation Services Corp., Federal Bureau of Investigation, Burns Security, Washington Dulles International Airport, Nawaf Alhazmi, Mohamed Abdi, Logan Airport, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Timeline Tags: Complete 911 Timeline

October 10, 2001: Baggage Handling Company Cleared of Wrongdoing It is reported that Globe Aviation Services Corp., in charge of the baggage handlers for Flight 11 and all other American Airlines Flights at Boston’s Logan Airport, have been cleared of any wrongdoing. Globe Aviation supervisors claim that none of the employees working that day was in the US illegally. Supposedly, no weapons were detected, but a baggage handler for Globe Aviation and American Airlines has told the FBI that one of the hijackers—believed to be either Wail or Waleed Alshehri—was carrying one wooden crutch under his arm when he boarded Flight 11. Crutches are apparently routinely scanned through X-ray machines. [BOSTON GLOBE, 10/10/2001] Entity Tags: Logan Airport, American Airlines, Globe Aviation Services Corp., Federal Bureau of Investigation, Wail Alshehri, Waleed M. Alshehri Timeline Tags: Complete 911 Timeline, 9/11 Timeline

Cargo

Logan Airport has two cargo facilities (North Cargo adjacent to Terminal E and South Cargo adjacent to Terminals A and B). The airport is served by the several cargo carriers:

• ABX Air
• AirNet Systems
• Air Transport International
• FedEx Express
• UPS Airlines

Notable incidents

• On September 11, 2001, two of the aircraft involved in the 9/11 terrorist attacks, American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175, departed from Logan International Airport, both bound for Los Angeles and slamming into the North and South Tower, respectively, of New York's World Trade Center. United and American Airlines have mounted American flags on Gates B32 and C19, the gates from which the flights departed that day.

Other services

Police services are provided by the Massachusetts State Police Troop F. Fire protection is the responsibility of Massport Fire Rescue. Even though the airport is within city limits, by state law the Boston Police Department does not have jurisdiction on Massport property.

General reliever airports

To address Logan Airport's overcrowding, Massport has designated two out-of-state airports as the second and third airports of Boston: Manchester-Boston Regional Airport in Manchester, New Hampshire, located approximately 44 statute miles (72 kilometers) north-northwest of Logan, which converts to an average drive time of 48 minutes via I-93; and T. F. Green Airport in Providence, Rhode Island, located 63 statute miles (101 kilometers) south-southwest of Logan, averaging a 1 hour, 8 minute drive to Logan via I-95. Massport does not operate these facilities.

For a time, Massport also operated scheduled flights at Hanscom Field in Bedford, Massachusetts and Worcester Regional Airport in Worcester, each of which are operated by Massport.

See also

• Massachusetts World War II Army Airfields

Gallery

Boston Logan Interntional Airport control tower (2009).jpg

Flight control tower

Boston Logan International Airport's control tower from ground (2009).jpg

Control tower from the ground

Terminal A, Logan International Airport, Boston.jpg

Terminal A

Terminal B, Logan International Airport, Boston.jpg

Terminal B

Terminal C, Logan International Airport, Boston.jpg

Terminal C

Terminal E, Logan International Airport, Boston.jpg

Terminal E

External links

• Terminal Map of Logan International Airport
• Airport Wayfinder: Boston
• Noise Complaints
• FAA Airport Diagram (PDF), effective 23 Sep 2010
• Resources for this airport:
  • AirNav airport information for KBOS
  • FlightAware airport information
  • SkyVector aeronautical chart for KBOS