Airline Security Story aired: Wednesday, September 22, 2004
Formerly known Cat Stevens, the artist of the song "Peace Train," now goes by Yusef Islam, and the plane he took last night from London to Washington DC was diverted to Maine, after the Transportation Security Administration found his name of a list of suspected terrorists.
According to a TSA spokesperson, "the TSA contacted the FAA and requested that the airplane be diverted to the nearest landing point, which was Bangor Maine, to keep the plane from entering the Northeast Corridor airspace."
That event took place the same day federal officials demanded that airlines turn over millions of passenger records, so that the TSA can test its new program, called Secure Flight.
Those records include passengers' names, addresses, telephone numbers, whether they requested special meals, and even who they listed as travel companions.
Washington Post reporter Sara Goo is covering those stories. She joins us from Washington to tell us why Yusef Islam was singled out.
