In addition, a flock of rubber ducks will be let loose into the Hudson River near the plant to symbolize the fact that Indian Point is a "sitting duck," as are the nearly 20 million people who live near it.

"Riverkeeper's flight above Indian Point dramatizes the ease with which terrorists could attack this plant," explained Riverkeeper Executive Director Alex Matthiessen.

"We were able to charter a plane from a nearby airport with no questions asked and fly to within 2000 feet of the plant without hindrance. If we were actual terrorists, striking Indian Point would be a cinch."

"There is nothing - no no-fly zones, no physical barriers, no air defense systems - to protect this plant from an aerial attack, and little to defend it against a water-based or ground attack. The fact that our officials have done so little to demand real security at Indian Point is appalling and inexcusable."

Mr. Kennedy and other participants in this action will hold a news conference this morning at 11:30 am at Fenton Communications, 260 5th Ave., 9th Floor (between 28th and 29th Streets).

The flyover is the first in a series of events on Indian Point this week. On Thursday night, September 9th, HBO will broadcast two films that together graphically illustrate the potential horror of an Indian Point accident:

Rory Kennedy's film, "Indian Point: Imagining the Unimaginable" reveals how poorly protected the plant is from a terrorist attack, and Maryann De Leo's Academy award-winning film, entitled "Chernobyl Heart," depicts the cruel deformities visited on a generation of children exposed to radiation from a nuclear accident.(In the Indian Point film, Rory and Bobby Kennedy fly over the plant in a rented helicopter for over an hour.)

On September 8th, Riverkeeper will release a peer-reviewed scientific study on the health and economic consequences for the New York metro area of an attack or accident at Indian Point.

According to the 9/11 Commission, Mohammed Atta, the 9/11 plot's ringleader, "...mentioned that he had considered targeting a nuclear facility he had seen during familiarization flights near New York." (p. 245 of 9/11 Commission report)

Al Qaeda operatives also apparently used the 'Hudson corridor' on their aerial reconnaissance missions. (Staff Statement No. 16) Given the fact that the next closest nuclear plant to New York City is over seventy miles away, it is more likely than not that the unidentified nuclear plant referred to by Atta was Indian Point.

The ultimate irony is that Al Qaeda decided against hitting the New York area nuclear plant because they assumed the air space around the plant was restricted and that they would be shot down.

Yet, three years after September 11, 2001, there is still no 'no-fly zone' or combat patrols around Indian Point - even though no-fly zones are in effect over Disneyland and Disneyworld and were imposed over Jennifer Aniston's wedding!

There is nothing in place to prevent a jet-laden jumbo jet or cargo plane from crashing into the reactor containment domes, nor to stop a smaller plane or helicopter loaded with explosives from striking the virtually unprotected spent fuel pools, control room, or electrical transmission infrastructure.

Private conversations with current security guards suggest that ground security at Indian Point is still rife with problems and ill-prepared for a real terrorist attack.

"Entergy, which owns the plant, and our federal and state officials, clearly don't want the public to focus on the threat. That's why they would rather risk the lives of New Yorkers than take the obvious steps necessary to protect the plant from a terrorist attack," said Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

Entergy