F-16s Force Jim McKay, Hannah Storm to Land

— -- The Sept. 11 terror attacks had a profound impact on the United States, and the effects are still rippling across American society in large and small ways. Here is a periodic wrap-up of some of them.

Fighter Jets Escort Sportscasters' Plane

S A L T L A K E C I T Y, Nov. 8 — Two F-16 fighter jets escorted a plane carrying NBC Sports Chairman Dick Ebersol andannouncers Hannah Storm and Jim McKay back to an airport after their private jet lost radio contact on takeoff from Salt LakeCity, officials said today.

NBC spokesman Kevin Sullivan said the group of 10 employees was returning Wednesday afternoon to New York after ameeting to prepare the network's coverage of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

"The pilot lost radio communications with the tower and began to circle while attempting to restore communications,"Sullivan said. "Not long after that [the passengers] looked out the window and they noticed an F-16 fighter."

Federal Aviation Administration officials said the pilot was able to send out a signal alerting traffic controllers thatthe radio was not working. The F-16 jets then guided the private plane to a smaller airport just north of Salt LakeCity. The plane resumed its trip after its radio was fixed.

U.S. military jets around the country have been on alert since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. In addition to the forced landing in Nevada, two F-16 fighter jets today forced a single-engine plane to land at a central Florida airport. Area schools were locked down for about 20 minutes as the plane was being escorted to the airport.

About an hour after the plane was forced down and parked at the Ocala airport's main terminal, authorities used bomb-sniffing dogs to inspect the aircraft for explosives.

—From Wire Reports

Justice Department Rebuilt to Fight Terror

W A S H I N G T O N, Nov. 8 — Attorney General John Ashcroft unveiled a sweeping restructuring of the Justice Department today to better position local FBI and immigration agents to combat terrorism.