London Olympics, RAF Northolt introduced a Flightwatch scheme based on the same cooperative principles. These changes are also being made abroad in countries such as Australia, where aviation enthusiasts are reporting suspicious or malicious actions to police. The organisation of such groups has now been echoed in parts of North America. For example, the Bensenville, Illinois police department have sponsored an Airport Watch group at the Chicago O'Hare Airport. Members are issued identification cards and given training to accurately record and report unusual activities around the airport perimeter. (Members are not permitted airside.) Meetings are attended and supported by the FBI, Chicago Department of Aviation and the TSA who also provide regular training to group members. The Bensenville program was modeled on similar programs in Toronto, Ottawa and Minneapolis. In 2009, a similar airport watch group was organized between airport security and local aircraft spotters at Montréal–Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport. As of 2016, the group has 46 members and a special phone number to use to contact police if suspicious activity is seen around the airport area. Extraordinary rendition Following the events of 9/11, information collected by planespotters helped uncover what is known as extraordinary rendition by the CIA. Information on unusual movements of rendition aircraft provided data that was mapped by critical geographers such as Trevor Paglen and the Institute for Applied Autonomy. These data and maps led first to news reports and then to a number of governmental and inter-governmental investigations. See also Bus spotting Train spotting Satellite watching References External links SpottersWiki: The Ultimate Airport Spotting Guide Aviation photography Observation hobbies