Think for a moment: the CIA got caught spying on Congress

[Octafish]

65. Another oddity: Wellstone co-pilot pointed out '20th hijacker' Moussaoui wanted to fly 747...

...Guess was a flight instructor. Reported it odd that Moussaoui was just interested in learning how to turn 747 toward a spot on the map, and not in taking off and landing.

Co-pilot played minor role in story of Moussaoui

Associated Press, 26 October 2002

MINNEAPOLIS - The co-pilot who died in the crash of Sen. Paul Wellstone's plane played a minor role in the case of Zacarias Moussaoui, the alleged Sept. 11 conspirator who briefly attended an Eagan flight school.

Co-pilot Michael Guess had performed administrative work at the Pan Am International Flight Academy last year as he continued accumulating flying hours. There he met Moussaoui, the school's most infamous student.

Two former Pan Am program managers who tipped the FBI to Moussaoui's suspicious behavior at the school in August 2001 told the Star Tribune that Guess inadvertently gave Moussaoui unattended access to a computer program on flying a 747 jumbo jet.

One of the ex-managers said Guess placed a CD-ROM containing the 747 software at a work station in advance of one of Moussaoui's training sessions, before his flight instructor arrived. After Moussaoui was arrested and the FBI searched his belongings, they found the proprietary program copied on his laptop computer, the ex-manager said.

Guess was a victim of layoffs several weeks ago at the flight academy, where he had hoped to become a flight instructor.

At Executive Aviation in Eden Prairie, where Guess had been employed as a pilot since June 2001, a spokesman said colleagues remembered Guess telling them he had played a more significant role regarding the suspicions concerning Moussaoui.

Dave Mona, a spokesman for Executive Aviation, said Guess' colleagues had said that Guess had described himself as "at least a role player" in the detection of Moussaoui. Mona said Guess told his colleagues that "he and the receptionist . . . thought what (Moussaoui) was requesting was unusual" and raised the issue with others.

SOURCE: AP via http://www.ratical.org/ratville/JFK/JohnJudge/linkscopy/PWcopilot.html

Of course, the FBI defended Moussaoui's Fourth Amendment rights and refused to look into his laptop until Sept. 12, 2001. Guess died with Wellstone and the others. One of the other staffers at the flight school received a $5 million reward from the Department of Justice.

For those interested in the subject, and for new DUers and readers who may not remember Moussaoui's role:

Know your BFEE: The Stench of Moussaoui Permeates the Octopus

PS: Thank you for relating the story about your friend, hifiguy. I hope she is well and her career gratifying. When I brought this up on DU, I was reminded how paranoid it was. That the investigation found probable icing or pilot error as the cause. I can't remember who said which, but I got both "right answers."