Internet users are circulating a hoax, the second in less than two weeks, that purports to contain a cryptic warning of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York.
The hoax, which has appeared on Web bulletin boards, chat rooms and in e-mails, instructs readers to enter the characters Q33NY in Microsoft Corp's Word software, highlight the text and change the font to Wingdings. The result is a series of symbols that depict a plane flying into a pair of buildings, followed by a skull and crossbones and the Star of David.
According to one version of the latest sham, Q33NY was the tail number on one of the two planes that were hijacked from Boston's Logan International Airport and crashed into the World Trade Center's twin towers. In another version, Q33NY was the flight number.
Both are false. All identification numbers on the tails of US aircraft are issued by the Federal Aviation Administration and start with the letter "N," said FAA spokeswoman Arlene Salac. They're similar to license plates on cars.
According to preliminary accident data posted on the FAA's Web site, the tail numbers on the two planes that hit the World Trade Center were: N334AA, registered to AMR Corp's American Airlines; and N612UA, registered to UAL Corp's United Airlines.
The planes, both Boeing Co 767s, were en route to Los Angeles from Boston.
Neither of the tail numbers on the other two flights that were hijacked and crashed that day match any more than one character in Q33NY. They were: N644AA, a Boeing 757 registered to American Airlines that struck the Pentagon; and N591UA, a United Airlines 757 that crashed in rural Pennsylvania.
The flight numbers also don't match.
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