Investigators swarm over Boston airport after hijackings

2.30 pm

BOSTON - Hundreds of investigators swarmed over Boston's Logan International Airport today after two commercial flights that departed from there were hijacked and crashed into New York's World Trade Center, destroying its twin towers.

"It's a massive investigation," said Tom Kinton, director of aviation for the Massachusetts Port Authority, which operates the airport.

FBI agents teamed with state police and other law enforcement agencies to hunt for clues on how the terror attacks were carried out.

Officials, however, were not able to say when the airport will open again or to provide any details of how security may have been compromised.

"We're trying to uncover what went wrong," Kinton said.

He speculated that after "Gulf War-like" security measures are put into force, it will be several days to a week before US airports are running at full capacity.

Passengers will no longer be able to check their bags at the curbside and random identification checks will be stepped up.

Asked why the hijackers had chosen to leave from Boston, Kinton said: "If I had to speculate, I think it's the proximity to New York City and several wide-bodied aircraft loaded with fuel ... tactically it fits the terrorists' plan."

At Logan airport, grief counsellors, airline officials, medical teams and clergy awaited relatives of those lost on the two doomed planes, both of which were bound for Los Angeles.

Authorities said American Airlines Flight 11 left Boston for Los Angeles at 7:59am EST (11:59 pm NZ time) and operated without any reported problems before being handed off to controllers at Boston Center in Nashua, New Hampshire.

Logan's control tower handles flight traffic within a 48 km radius and at altitudes below 4.240m, Kinton said. Outside those ranges, Boston Center takes over.

After the handoff, Kinton said Flight 11 diverted from its flight plan for 30 minutes.

The flight carried 81 passengers and 11 crew members. Among those believed killed was Daniel Lewin, the 31-year-old co-founder of Akamai Technologies Inc in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

In addition, TJX Companies Inc, a Boston-area retail firm, said seven company associates had tickets for Flight 11. Details on whether they boarded the flight were not available.

About 15 minutes after Flight 11 left Boston, United Airlines Flight 175 also left the airport bound for Los Angeles with 56 passengers and nine crew members aboard.

Authorities said that flight was the second plane that slammed into the World Trade Center.

Both planes hijacked from Boston were Boeing 767 aircraft.

No flights will be allowed to leave or land at the airport until further notice, said Joseph Lawless, director of security at Logan Airport.

Jim Ogonowski, the brother of American Airlines Flight 11 pilot John Ogonowski, told journalists: "I consider my brother a hero for many reasons. It is hard to lose my older brother."

Ogonowski leaves a wife and three daughters.

Meanwhile, Lawless urged the public to stay away from the airport as Massachusetts State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation stepped up security there.

FBI officials in Boston declined to comment on the investigation.

Kinton emphasised that both American Airlines and United Airlines were responsible for security within their terminals.

Officials at St Louis, Missouri-based Huntleigh Corp, which was in charge of some of the security at Logan airport, said they had no immediate comment on the hijackings.

Huntleigh is a unit of Dutch-based ICTS International NV.

In downtown Boston, major office buildings were evacuated after the terror attacks on the Pentagon and New York City. At midday, Boston's major thoroughfares were clogged with workers going home early and public transport authorities added extra trains to take people home.

- REUTERS

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These numbers are valid for calls from within New Zealand, but may be overloaded at the moment.

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