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FBI is behind surveillance aircraft over U.S. cities

Low-flying planes take video, can detect unused cellphones even indoors

The Columbian
Published: June 3, 2015, 12:00am

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Associated Press identified surveillance flights conducted by the FBI in these cities during 30 days beginning in late April, by comparing a list of more than 50 aircraft it traced to FBI ownership and commercial flight records from FlightRadar24.com.


o Arizona:
Glendale, Maricopa, Mesa, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe.


o California:
Anaheim, Rancho Cordova, Richmond, Sacramento, San Diego, Spring Valley.


o Florida:
Cape Coral.

o Illinois: Chicago.

o Maryland: Baltimore, Columbia.


o Massachusetts:
Boston, Brockton.


o Minnesota:
Minneapolis.


o Rhode Island:
Providence.


o Texas:
Arlington, Dallas, Houston, Plano.


o Virginia:
Arlington, Fairfax, Garrisonville, Springfield.


o Washington: Seattle, Tacoma.

o Washington, D.C.


View the registration for one FBI plane.

WASHINGTON — The FBI is operating a small air force with scores of low-flying planes across the country using video and sometimes cellphone surveillance technology — all hidden behind fictitious companies that are fronts for the government, The Associated Press has learned.

The surveillance equipment is generally used without a judge’s approval, and the FBI says the flights are used for specific investigations. The agency says it uses front companies to protect the safety of the pilots and aircraft, shielding their identities from would-be suspects on the ground.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Associated Press identified surveillance flights conducted by the FBI in these cities during 30 days beginning in late April, by comparing a list of more than 50 aircraft it traced to FBI ownership and commercial flight records from FlightRadar24.com.

o Arizona: Glendale, Maricopa, Mesa, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe.

o California: Anaheim, Rancho Cordova, Richmond, Sacramento, San Diego, Spring Valley.

o Florida: Cape Coral.

o Illinois: Chicago.

o Maryland: Baltimore, Columbia.

o Massachusetts: Boston, Brockton.

o Minnesota: Minneapolis.

o Rhode Island: Providence.

o Texas: Arlington, Dallas, Houston, Plano.

o Virginia: Arlington, Fairfax, Garrisonville, Springfield.

o Washington: Seattle, Tacoma.

o Washington, D.C.


View the registration for one FBI plane.

In a recent 30-day period, an AP review found, the FBI flew above more than 30 cities in 11 states across the country, including parts of Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Seattle, and Southern California.

Aerial surveillance is a changing frontier for law enforcement, providing what the government maintains is an important tool for investigations. But the program raises questions as new technologies pose intrusive opportunities for government spying.

U.S. law enforcement officials confirmed for the first time the wide-scale use of the aircraft, which the AP traced to at least 13 fake companies registered to Bristow, Va., post office boxes, including FVX Research, KQM Aviation, NBR Aviation and PXW Services.

“The FBI’s aviation program is not secret,” said spokesman Christopher Allen. “Specific aircraft and their capabilities are protected for operational security purposes.” He added that the FBI’s planes “are not equipped, designed or used for bulk collection activities or mass surveillance.”

The FBI occasionally gives local police aerial support, such as during the recent disturbance in Baltimore after Freddie Gray, 25, died of injuries sustained in police custody. Such requests are reviewed by senior FBI officials.

The FBI does not generally obtain warrants to record video of people moving outside in the open. But it says it needs warrants before it identifies cellphones below — using “cell-site simulators” — even if a user is not making a call or in public. Officials said that practice, which mimics cell towers to get phones to reveal basic subscriber information, is rare.

An FBI spokesman said the flights comply with agency rules, although details are heavily redacted in public documents that discuss limitations and justifications for such surveillance.

“It’s important that federal law enforcement personnel have the tools they need to find and catch criminals,” said Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee. “But … we must make darn sure that safeguards are in place to protect the civil liberties of innocent Americans.”

Details on the flights come as the Justice Department seeks to navigate privacy concerns arising from aerial surveillance by unmanned aircrafts, or drones. The AP traced at least 50 aircraft to the FBI, and the agency told Congress in 2010 it had at least 115 planes.

The FBI asked the AP not to disclose the names of the fake companies it uncovered, saying that would saddle taxpayers with the expense of creating new cover companies to shield the government’s involvement, and could endanger the planes and the surveillance missions. The AP declined the FBI’s request because the companies’ names — as well as common addresses linked to the Justice Department — are listed on public documents and databases.

Justice Department lawyers approved the decision to create fictitious companies to protect the flights’ operational security, and the Federal Aviation Administration was aware of the practice, officials said. The FBI has been careful not to reveal its surveillance flights in court documents.

After The Washington Post revealed flights by two planes circling over Baltimore in early May, the AP began analyzing the mysterious owners behind planes that shared similar addresses and flight patterns.

Independent journalists have also recently cited companies traced to post office boxes in Virginia, including one shared with the Justice Department. The AP had analyzed similar data from the website FlightRadar24.com, while also drawing upon aircraft registration documents, business records and interviews with U.S. officials to understand the scope of the government’s operations.

A Justice Department memo last month expressly barred its component law enforcement agencies from using unmanned drones “solely for the purpose of monitoring activities protected by the First Amendment” and said they are to be used only in connection with authorized investigations and activities.

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