"Nothing illegal in flyovers, FBI says

By James V. Walker
Clarion-Ledger Staff Writer

Two recent terrorism scares involving airplanes along the Mississippi River have turned out to be simple misunderstandings, the FBI said Wednesday.

"There was no crime committed that we are aware of," said Robert Cromwell, acting special agent in charge of the FBI's Jackson office.

In the most recent scare, at a Coast Guard station in Natchez on Monday, investigators said a plane flying overhead had nothing to do with a white powder floating around the area. The FBI interviewed the pilot of the plane, not a crop-duster, and determined he was not involved.

The particles, already in the air when the plane flew over, are the same type released from a nearby paper processing plant and often float around the site, Cromwell said.

A member of the Coast Guard who was new to the station incorrectly connected the powder with the plane, Cromwell said.

Edwin Dyess, head of the state Bureau of Plant Industry, said Tuesday that initial tests showed the substance might be powdered fertilizer. He said Wednesday that determination likely was based on a visual examination.

An incident on Friday involved a crop-duster flying over a barge near Rosedale. But the substance released likely was a harmless white smoke, Cromwell said.

Crop-dusters often use smoke to mark locations, judge wind direction or send messages, said Wes Allen, executive director of the Mississippi Agricultural Aviation Association.

"We think he was perhaps signaling hello" to the crew of the tugboat, Cromwell said. Crop-dusters report the practice is common. "Hopefully, now it won't be common any more," he said.

Although the FBI said there was nothing illegal about the flyover, members of the crop-dusting industry were outraged at the pilot's irresponsible behavior.

"In view of the times we're in, it's definitely something that shouldn't have been done," Allen said.

Cromwell said the FBI is fairly certain of the pilot's identity but would not release the name."