In the spirit of the US homeland defence "minuteman" philosophy, in which everyday citizens are being asked to keep alert for trouble, there is talk of a new wonder weapon in the war on terrorism. Following the botched attempt to bring down an Israeli 757-300 in Africa the other week, the idea is starting to take root that the UK should immediately activate its (almost) uniquely British army of plane spotters and deploy them to trouble spots around the globe. Who better to watch the peri track night and day, in all weathers? Who better to use their "bins" and "poles" as a force multiplier to the hard-pressed security professionals. STEP FORWARD SPOTTERS OF BRITAIN!
(scene at airport fence following apprehension of suspects)
Police: "Thanks for the tip-off. By the way, what made you suspicious?"
Brian Seenthat: "Easy mate. They got dead excited about a boring old 767 from the States that EVERYONE's copped about a billion times right, and didn't bat an eyelid when that amazing Il-62 arrived unexpectedly from Tashkent. Oh yeah, and at one stage they pulled out this SAM-7 shoulder-launched jobby instead of their poles…piece of cake really."
Source: Flight International
