ALBUQUERQUE, NM — Multiple surveillance aircraft equipped with high-tech thermal imaging cameras and “augmented reality” systems have been flying over Albuquerque since last fall, piloted by FBI and Department of Homeland Security agents.
KOB has confirmed at least two planes owned by the FBI through shell companies have flown multiple missions – sometimes for more than an hour at a time – over the city. A Buzzfeed News investigation shows even more planes have also flown over the city, though those could not be independently confirmed by KOB.
View Buzzfeed News’ map plotting the missions over Albuquerque embedded below or by clicking here.
PLANES ARE OFTEN COVERT, REGISTERED TO FBI SHELL COMPANIES
Part of the reason most of the flights could not be independently confirmed is the two planes found by KOB to have flown had no listed flight plans or records on websites that track flights.
They did, however, appear on live playback on the websiteFlightradar24 – with no identification, though the tail numbers could be found upon closer inspection. There were not any flight logs, however, even though most private and commercial flights provided such information.
KOB cross-referenced flight plans discovered by BuzzFeed News from mid-August 2015 through January of this year.
One plane, a Cessna T206H Turbo Stationair, flew at least 12 separate missions over Albuquerque from Nov. 3, 2015 to Jan. 21 of this year. Most of the flights appear to start and end from Double Eagle II Airport on Albuquerque’s northwest side.
The plane was outfitted with a FLIR thermal imaging camera and anaugmented reality system, which can overlay street data and other information on top of live video. The augmented reality system can also use high resolution satellite imagery to pinpoint buildings and locations.
The plane is registered to PSL Surveys, a company registered in Bristow, Virginia that an investigation by The Associated Press found to be a shell company used by the FBI. Its address is listed as a PO Box. Its FAA certificate was issued in Jan. 2011.
It was also seen flying circles over Aurora, Colorado in 2012.
A different plane, a Cessna 182T, flew in Albuquerque on Dec. 5 and 6 of last year. It was outfitted with the same thermal imaging camera and augmented reality system as the other plane.
That plane was registered to a different company The Associated Press found to also be a shell company for the FBI: Greenville, Delaware-based National Aircraft Leasing Corp. Its FAA certificate was issued in Dec. 2009.
FIRST SIGNS APPEARED LAST JUNE
The AP investigation, published in June of last year, found the FBI flew more than 100 times over major cities across the U.S. over a month-long period. At least 13 shell companies were found to have been used by the FBI to certify the planes.
Many of the planes have been registered since 2009, according to BuzzFeed News, which found the planes made more than 1,950 flights over the four-month period it studied.
Its study found primarily FBI aircraft were used over Albuquerque, but some DHS aircraft, which usually deals with drug and human trafficking, also flew over the city.
BuzzFeed News also found some of the FBI planes were equipped with exhaust mufflers and cellphone tracking devices that mimic cell towers, though the FBI told the organization that “is rarely done.”
FBI’S ALBUQUERQUE OFFICE MUM; ACLU SAYS SURVEILLANCE ‘CHILLING’
When asked about the surveillance aircrafts’ missions over Albuquerque, Frank Fisher, the spokesman for the FBI’s Albuquerque division said the program is “an investigative technique” the FBI “would prefer not to discuss at length.” He referred KOB to an FBI news release from last June about the program that was issued following the AP story.
That statement says the FBI “routinely uses aviation assets in support of predicated investigation targeting specific individuals and, when requested and appropriate, in support of state and local law enforcement.”
The statement says the program is not classified, but some aircraft are registered covertly “because overt registration would put our aircraft and operations at risk of compromise.”
The statement also says the aircraft “are not equipped, designed, or used for bulk collection activities or mass surveillance, and are not routinely equipped with cell site simulators,” and that cell site simulators can only be used “under exigent circumstances.”
Micah McCoy, spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico, called the surveillance concerning in a statement to KOB Friday.
“The routine aerial surveillance of our communities by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies should be deep concern to any American who values their privacy. It is especially chilling that the data reveals that law enforcement may be targeting communities based upon their religion or ethnicity.
“We need to impose rules, limits and regulations on aerial surveillance, both manned and unmanned, in order to preserve the privacy Americans have always expected and enjoyed,” McCoy wrote.
Though only two different aircraft have been independently confirmed to have surveilled Albuquerque, KOB is continuing to cross-reference flights from the time period with other possible surveillance aircraft identified as being used by the FBI or DHS.
We have also reached out to state and local law enforcement agencies to identify when they request FBI surveillance assistance, and are analyzing the dates the planes flew to identify any operations they were possibly involved in. We will keep you posted on any updates at KOB.com.