evangilder
"Shooter"
Importing foreign warbirds has it's hazards. Are you familiar with Security Aviation or Mark Avery, Joe?
http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/7445675p-7356227c.htmlFeds truck in seized jets from Valley to Anchorage
STRANGE SIGHT: Aircraft now in secure location, officials say.
By LISA DEMER
Anchorage Daily News
Published: February 14, 2006
Last Modified: February 14, 2006 at 01:53 AM
Long before sunup Sunday morning, federal authorities trucked a convoy of seized fighter jets from Palmer to Anchorage.
It was a strange sight to the few drivers in downtown Anchorage around 5 a.m.: a line of flatbed trucks, each carrying an L-39 jet, wings still attached and extending over two or three traffic lanes.
The FBI seized a fleet of Czech fighter planes after raids of Security Aviation Inc. hangars Feb. 2 in Palmer and Anchorage as well as the Midtown offices of Mark Avery. The Anchorage attorney owns the company and a slew of related businesses.
The FBI turned the jets over to the U.S. Marshals Service. Marc Otte, acting chief deputy for U.S. Marshals in Anchorage, confirmed the many eyewitness reports that the planes were moved and said they are now in a safe, secure location in Anchorage. He would not disclose that location.
"The Marshals Service takes care of assets no matter where they go," Otte said.
State troopers escorted the convoy from the Valley, turning the duty over to Anchorage police at the Knik River bridge, said Lt. Paul Honeman, Anchorage police spokesman.
"All of Fifth Avenue and C Street were totally blocked," said Randall Lorenz, an aircraft mechanic who saw the planes as he headed to work around 5 a.m. Sunday. The road wasn't closed, but there was no way around the planes, he said.
A principal in Avery's businesses, Rob Kane, has been charged with illegal possession of two rocket launchers, and a federal investigation is continuing.