Plane linked to FBI program flies over Dearborn

DEARBORN – Records say a small plane linked to an FBI surveillance program has flown several times over the Detroit area, including two flights last weekend.

The plane is among those that routinely orbit major U.S. cities and rural areas. An investigation by The Associated Press that was published June identified more than 100 flights in 11 states over a 30-day period this spring, with more flights since then.

Flight data reviewed by The Detroit News showed surveillance over Dearborn, a Detroit suburb that has large Arab and Muslim populations, with the plane flying in slow-speed orbits. Federal officials haven’t commented on those flights.

Dawud Walid, executive director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, says he plans to file a complaint with the House Judiciary Committee.