NINE MONTHS AFTER 9/11: CHARLES BISHOP CASE
BACKGROUND
Nine months after the September 11th attacks on January 5th 2002, Charles J. Bishop flew a plane into the 28th floor of the Bank of America building at Tampa, Florida. It made headlines that day, but the event was considered ‘miniscule’, and was quickly forgotten. The plane was a Cessna 172, and Bishop was 15 years old. No one else died but Bishop, and no one was injured.
INCIDENT
On Saturday, January 5th, 2002, Bishop’s grandmother would drop him off at the private plane section of the Saint Petersburg Clearwater International Airport for his monthly flight lessons. Apparently, he had told her that if something happened to him, he didn't want his "enemies" coming to his funeral and not to tell his father.
Bishop had been taking lessons since March of 2001, and had logged a total of 6 hours of flight time; the lesson was supposed to last 2 hours each, beginning at 5PM. However, Bishop had shown up early, and had been instructed by his flight instructor to preflight a Cessna 172, and then wait for the instructor before beginning the training flight.
Witnesses say that a student pilot proceeded to an airplane, removed the wings tied down and boarded the airplane, started the engine and immediately taxied to run away 3-5r without the flight instructor. At 4:50PM Bishop then took off from the runway without communicating with the airport air traffic control tower with the tower controllers stating that the airplane turned to the right and headed south east immediately after takeoff. No transponder signals were received from the airplane and the towers notified Tampa ATC approach controllers, as well as the pilots of a Coast Guard helicopter that was flying in the local area.
Additionally, the controllers made numerous attempts to contact the pilot by emergency radio frequency, but were unsuccessful. Bishop’s plane proceeded to the Macdill Air Force Base and overthrew the base control tower, two aircrafts and three hangars at a low altitude.The airplane was then observed to have altered its direction to the Bank Of America building, which was 42 stories high, while on route to the building, the Coast Guard helicopter pilots intercepted Bishop’s plane and attempted to signal him to land.
According to the helicopter’s pilots; Bishop saw their hand gestures and gestured back to them, however the Coast Guard pilots couldn’t determine the kind and meaning of the gestures exhibited. Shortly around 5:15PM, Bishop’s plane crashed into the 28th floor of the Bank of America plaza, killing him instantaneously.
WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT CHARLES BISHOP?
PARENTS SUICIDE PACT
Turns out his parents had attempted suicide as teenagers, according to newspaper reports at the time.
Bishop's mother, Julia, and father, Charles Bishara, entered into a suicide pact after they were denied a marriage license because they lacked the proper paperwork, the Malden (Mass.) Evening News reported in 1984. Julia Bishop's attorney, Pam Campbell, told the St. Petersburg Times:
"Basically it was a Romeo-and-Juliet type of suicide pact, they were both very depressed. ... And they were very young."
Charles Bishop's mother, the former Julia Detore, tried to marry Bishara when she was 17 and he was 19, but the couple was denied a marriage license in Rhode Island because of the paperwork problem.
The couple stuffed rags into the tailpipe of Detore's car and tried to fill it with carbon monoxide to kill them both, according to the 1984 newspaper accounts. When that failed, they allegedly agreed Detore would stab Bishara with a butcher knife, and he would slash her wrists with the same knife, the newspaper said.
After Bishara was stabbed, he asked Detore to call an ambulance, according to the newspaper. Paramedics found him on a sofa bleeding heavily with a lacerated liver. Bishara denied that the pair had attempted suicide, though Detore insisted that was the case.
Detore was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to commit murder. She was ordered to undergo a 20-day evaluation at a state hospital in Waltham, Mass.
Bishara's sister Dawn said her brother refused to cooperate with prosecutors, and the charge against Detore was dropped. Campbell, Bishop's attorney, said she was told that the court file was sealed.
FAMILY LIFE
Bishop was born on February 8th, 1986 in Norwell Massachusetts. He had bounced from school to school in his home state of Massachusetts, Atlanta and the Tampa area. According to reports he faced a difficult childhood; his parents divorced when he was a baby.
Julia Bishop, who changed her name and her son's from Bishara. She told Pinellas County officials she changed her name because Bishara is an Arabic name and the United States was at war with Iraq at the time.
"We have heard, in talking with some people, that he [Charles] often mentioned being of Arab descent and we're following up on that, I believe his father was part Arab, I'm not exactly sure, but we are checking that out."
the quote above is from Tampa Police Chief Bennie Holder, who was investigating the case. His reasons for his family moving around was allegedly due to family problems that are unspecified. Charles, his mother and grandmother would settle in Palm Harbor, Florida. It’s an unincorporated community 22 miles west of Tampa.
Other relatives said they had no idea why Charles would commit such an act, according to them:
"He seemed happiest when he was involved with anything related to aviation."
MIDDLE SCHOOL
One article writes:
"Shy when he arrived at Dunedin Academy for the eighth grade, Bishop quickly became popular in his class of 20."
Dressed in their red, white and blue uniforms, students gathered every morning to sing patriotic songs after a flag-raising ceremony. Bishop volunteered to hold the gold-fringed flag and would belt out "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," "America the Beautiful" and "My Country 'Tis of Thee."
"When we sang it you would hear his voice the loudest."
Quote above from Danielle Parker, his computer science teacher. Additionally, Dale Porter, a former headmaster of the Dunedin Academy states:
''I can picture him singing 'My Country 'Tis of Thee,' bellowing it out.''
The note about being sympathetic toward Osama bin Laden is perplexing, Porter said. Bishop once entered the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Junior American Citizens contests.
"Those are very patriotic competitions, Charles was one of the leading entries."
Bishop wanted to stay at Dunedin Academy this year but couldn't because of transportation problems, Porter said. He went instead to East Lake High, which was closer to his home.
"He was a nice boy and an excellent student. I would think there must be some major change in the last few months."
The boy's mother pre-registered him for high school but then changed her mind, headmaster Dale Porter said. In a May 14 of 2001 letter, she said a "sudden, critical illness in the family" would prevent her son from attending his eighth grade graduation and continuing at the school. She had wrote:
"Thank you for providing Charles with a safe and happy school year."
HIGH SCHOOL
By August, Bishop was among more than 2,000 students at East Lake High School, where he was remembered for wearing sunglasses in class and silently gazing out the school bus window.
Teachers at Dunedin said he managed a literary magazine, entered essay contests run by the Daughters of the American Revolution and helped plan bake sales and food drives as a student council member.
Bishop apparently excelled academically and was described by teachers as a straight A student and was also on his high school’s honor roll. He loved classical music and shunned rock and rap. A student councilman who had three mixed-breed dogs.
His views on 9/11 were not unknown to anyone, however, extremely contradictory to what he said in his note.
The flight school's operations manager, Doug Cunningham, said his pupil was angry that private planes were grounded after the attacks. In an e-mail, Bishop said student pilots should be required to wear identification badges to increase safety.
Robert Cooper, owner of the flight school, said he doubted the sincerity of the youngster's note and said the boy had voiced anger over the Sept. 11 attacks.
''He wanted to just go over there and get the SOBs [terrorists]. I would call him a relatively typical gangly, intelligent, articulate 15-year-old with a complexion problem and a passion for flying."
The youngster's journalism teacher at East Lake High School, Gabriella Terry, said that her class discussed the attacks on Sept. 11 and that they saddened Charles Bishop.
''He told me he wanted to join the U.S. Air Force because he wanted to do something good for his country. He was a good boy.''
Bishop even gave an oral presentation on the Sept. 11 attacks.
"He expressed how angry he was that someone would attack America. He was disgusted by Osama bin Laden."
Quote above from Derek Perryman, an East Lake High School senior. Perryman remembered that Bishop was friends with another student, a flying aficionado.
"That's pretty much all they talked about. . . . Both of them were looking to be pilots."
The news shocked Bishop's honors class teachers at East Lake High School. Andrea Panarelli, who had Bishop in her second period honors English class, would say:
"He never showed any signs of there being a problem in his life. He was a bright, good kid."
15-year-old Emerson Favreau recalled that Bishop "hated bin Laden." Before his fateful flight lesson, Favreau said Bishop sent him an e-mail saying he was going to be on the news.
"When I heard a Cessna hit the building, what he said popped into my head. I knew that's what he flew, and when they said it was a 15-year-old East Lake High School student, I knew it had to be him. But I kept hoping. I think he wrote the note to get publicity so people would know who he was when he died, and they do."
While many remember him as being bright, outspoke and patriotic, some conclude differently.
At least one classmate picked up on signs that Bishop's cheerfulness seemed forced. Adam Goch said Bishop never spoke up in journalism class, nor befriended other students.
"It didn't seem like he wanted to fit into the norm, all the high school B.S. Bishop's perpetual smile seemed pretty weird. It didn't seem like he was genuinely happy."
Ron Stone, assistant superintendent for the Pinellas County schools, said the student was not well known at his school.
"He can best be described as a young man who has very few friends and who was very much a loner."
Quote above from Tampa Police Chief, Bennie Holder.
Other opinions outside from school and investigators come from neighbors: He lived briefly in a town home in the Berkeley Square subdivision of Westchase.
Neighbors at the apartment complex where Bishop lived with his mother said they usually saw him when he walked his dogs. One neighbor states:
"Just a quiet 15-year-old, you know. You would never think that anything was wrong or difficult inside him."
Robyn Larson and her son, who lived next door, remembered Bishop as tall and wiry, clean cut with curly brown hair.
"He bordered on being shy. He'd smile and say hello. I'd see him walking his dog."
On two occasions, Larson hired Bishop to watch her son Jacob, then 8. She had an informal interview with Bishop, though Larson did most of the talking. She said Bishop made a good impression.
"I'm very selective about who I leave Jacob with, Charles was sweet."
The mothers spoke informally a few times. Larson learned Julia Bishop worked as a freelance graphic artist from home. They moved away after nine months in the neighborhood.
Pinellas County Sheriff's Office spokesman, Sgt. Greg Tita, who was involved with the investigation observed that:
"Apparently he didn't have anyone in his family who would talk about him or his personality, so we don't know much about him."
Tita said the boy's mother and grandmother were distraught and "very much in denial." Holder said the family didn't know of his sympathy for bin Laden."
In 2001 Bishop helped publish a book of essays about Christmas, which he called "my favorite holiday." He wrote an essay called, "True Christmas Spirit", quotes include:
"People who celebrate the holiday of Christmas should not be selfish. Rejoice! Be thankful! Some people have nothing to be thankful for and are severely depressed."
Detectives also took note of his parents' own brush with suicide, though a family lawyer said the boy knew nothing of it.
AFTERMATH
Minimal damage was done to the building, an examination of the airframe systems, and engine did not reveal any evidence of pre-impact mechanical malfunction, and no indications of alcohol or drugs were found in specimens taken from Bishop.
An investigation followed the incident with officials ruling out terrorism being the motive. Although, eyewitnesses stated that the plane made no apparent attempt to avoid hitting the building.
The incident occurred about the same time two small aircraft crashed in Colorado and California, but authorities said they found no connection in the events. However, none of the incidents were related, and there is no indication that it was a correlated terrorist attack, that was concluded by Scott McClellan, White House deputy press secretary.
NOTE
The crash was ultimately determined to be an apparent suicide, with a two page note written by Bishop found among the wreckage:
“I have prepared this statement in regards to the acts I am about to commit. First of all, Osama bin Laden is absolutely justified in the terror he has caused on 9-11. He has brought a mighty nation to its knees! God blesses him and the others who helped make September 11th happen.
The U.S. will have to face the consequences for its horrific actions against the Palestinian people and Iraqis by its allegiance with the monstrous Israelis--who want nothing short of world domination! You will pay--God help you--and I will make you pay! There will be more coming!
Al Qaeda and other organizations have met with me several times to discuss the option of me joining. I didn't.
This is an operation done by me only. I had no other help, although I am acting on their behalf. Osama bin Laden is planning on blowing up the Super Bowl with an antiquated nuclear bomb left over from the 1967 Israeli-Syrian war.”
His note states the support for Osama Bin Laden, crediting him for the 9/11 attacks and praising it as a justified response to the actions against the Palestinians and Iraqis, also stating that he was acting on behalf of Al-Qaeda, from whom he had turned down help. However, there isn’t any hard evidence to suggest that he had any direct connection to the terror group. Plus as mentioned before not only did Bishop's teachers but also peers remembered him as very pro-american, patriotic and devoted to the United States.
There was never any indication that the 9/11 attacks, Osama Bin Laden, or Al-Qaeda would change any of Bishop’s strong patriotic feelings. In fact, he seemed to be the U.S.A's side for the war on terrorism. His family also stated that they couldn’t provide any evidence that he was supporting terrorist groups, his family released the follow statement:
“The family of Charles Bishop is appalled and devastated over the incident of Saturday, January 5. We had absolutely no prior indication that this might occur. We are exceedingly grateful that no one was injured. Charles and his family have always fully supported our United States war on terrorism and Osama Bin Laden. We do not understand how this incident happened. We will always remember Charles as a loving and giving person, a hard-working and responsible honor roll student, and a boy who cared deeply about his country. We hope that something positive can come out of our tragic loss.”
LAWSUIT AGAINST HOFFMAN LA-ROCHE
Bishop's mother, Juila Bishop, seemed in denial that her son could ever support terrorists. She remembers her son, a high school freshman who dreamed of becoming an Air Force Pilot, excitedly talking about an upcoming trip to Australia and New Zealand as a student ambassador.
"When you see a pattern and then suddenly for somebody to snap and think they are working for Osama bin Laden … I'm sure you've seen the note, that's really sick."
The quote above is from Julia, she believes her son was suicidal, however she doesn't believe that terrorist links. she said she meets about once a month with her son's best friend, Emerson Favreau, who says he still feels guilty he didn't notice any suicide warning signs in his friend.
Two days before the crash, Charles sent Favreau an e-mail saying he was going to be on the news. Charles ended the online conversation by saying: "See you Monday", " Favreau says:
"That's what made me mad, because he knew he wasn't going to see me on Monday."
Three months after the incident, Bishop’s mother and grandmother would file a 70 million dollar lawsuit against the company of ‘Roche’ laboratories, which make an acne medicine called ‘accutane’, the Bishop family stated that he had never shown any signs of depression before he started taking accutane; however investigators did not believe he had any of the drug in his system at the time of the crash.
Accutane has come under scrutiny of the Food and Drug Administration largely due to its links to birth defects. The prescription can be given only in one-month intervals, and someone under 18 must have a parent or legal guardian sign a consent form after reading lengthy explanations about potential side effects.
the lawsuit alleged that the medication had side effect that included depression and suicidal behavior, and that Roche/Hoffmann-La Roche failed to adequately warn the public of a potential link to depression and suicide, which were identified as reasons behind the incident.
However, the suit was dropped five years later on June 26th, 2007 by Bishop’s mother who stated she was “physically and emotionally unable to continue the action”.
OUTCOME
Following the attack, the Federal Aviation Administration issued official guidelines to enhance flight school security. These recommendations included utilizing a distinct ignition key, instructing employees to be vigilant of suspicious activity, requiring underage students to have their parents sign their enrollment applications and more. The implementation of the stronger security measures is anticipated to thwart the unauthorized use of aircraft and prevent similar unexpected and bizarre attacks in the future.
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