White House unveils color-coded terror alert system

The White House today unveiled a new, color-coded terror-alert warning system. The five-level system, ranked from green ("low risk of terrorist attacks") to red ("severe risk of terrorist attacks") is supposed to provide more specific information to the public and government officials than the vague terrorist alerts that have been issued before.

Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge said the nation is currently under a yellow alert—meaning there is a significant risk of attack that requires increased surveillance of critical locations and implementing some emergency response plans.

The yellow alert will probably not lead to new airspace restrictions, security sources told AOPA today.

AOPA has also learned that there are threats against several nuclear facilities, but security officials have concluded that they do not need temporary flight restrictions over these facilities to help protect them.

AOPA again reminds pilots to avoid flight near nuclear power plants and other sensitive installations.

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