Plane allegedly linked to CIA front landed in Canada: records

Plane allegedly linked to CIA front landed in Canada: records


JIM BRONSKILL

OTTAWA (CP) - Records show a privately owned airplane that has been linked to an alleged CIA front flew from Newfoundland to the United States on Friday, raising new questions about Canada's role in the fight against terrorism.

Flight data obtained by The Canadian Press reveals the 40-seat turboprop plane travelled from St. John's, N.L., to New Hampshire and finally on to its home base in North Carolina.

The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency has come under scrutiny in recent months over its apparent use of civilian aircraft to ferry terrorism suspects around the globe.

Ottawa engineer Maher Arar says in 2002 he was bundled aboard a small jet that took him from New Jersey to Washington, D.C., Maine, Rome and eventually Jordan. From there, he was driven blindfolded to Syria, where he was imprisoned and interrogated as a suspected al-Qaida member.

A federal inquiry is examining his case.

Montreal newspaper La Presse reported Saturday the latest plane in question left an Icelandic airport for St. John's.

"That's where it was supposed to go, but I can't confirm to you that it arrived," an aviation official from Iceland told the newspaper from Reykjavik on Friday. "It arrived (in Iceland) on Wednesday and left the next day."

A spokesman for Nav Canada, which operates Canada's civil air navigation service, refused to confirm whether the plane landed in St. John's. He told La Presse information about private flights was confidential.

The flight data records obtained Saturday by CP indicate the N196D turboprop left St. John's on Friday for Manchester, N.H., then carried on to Johnston County Airport in Smithfield, N.C.

The airport has been identified as an alleged hub for covert American air operations.

U.S. Federal Aviation Administration records show the plane in question is registered to Devon Holding and Leasing Inc. of Lexington, N.C.

In late May, the New York Times published a photograph of a similar plane, with the identification number N168D, to illustrate a story about the CIA's extensive use of civilian aircraft.

According to FAA records, that plane is also registered to Devon Holding and Leasing.

The Times said an analysis of thousands of flight logs, aircraft registrations and corporate documents, as well as interviews with former CIA officers and pilots, showed the agency owned at least 26 planes through a web of seven shell corporations.

The CIA has apparently long used civilian aircraft to slip into territories where military aircraft would attract unwelcome attention, or be prohibited from landing without official notice.

According to an Icelandic flight registry obtained by a newspaper in Reykjavik, the airplane registered as N168D arrived in that country from St. John's last April 6 before quickly heading to Prague, La Presse reported.

Iceland and Sweden are probing allegations that planes flown by the CIA used their air facilities during secret transfers of terrorism suspects.

Iceland's government says it is still awaiting answers from Washington.

John Sifton, an analyst with New York-based Human Rights Watch, said in an interview with La Presse the two Devon aircraft suspected of landing on Canadian soil had the authority to land "on any U.S. military base on the planet."

He said two other aircraft had similar authorization. Those planes also landed in Canada in 2001, according to aircraft registries consulted by the newspaper.

"The fact that an airplane linked to the CIA landed on Canadian soil does not necessarily mean the Canadian government was aware of it," Sifton said.

He warned against jumping to conclusions that the planes were transporting prisoners.

"The geographic proximity between Canada and the United States means it is less likely that prisoners would be transported by air. Iceland, Norway, Germany have more to worry about on that level."

The CIA would not discuss the flights.

"You know what I'm going to tell you: no comment," an agency spokesman told La Presse.


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