FBI spy plane zooming in on Dearborn, Michigan

Arab American National Museum,
Dearborn, Michigan

The Detroit suburb of Dearborn--which has a population of nearly 100,000--has more residents on the FBI's terrorist watch list than any other municipality except for New York--which has 80 times more people.

How is that possible? Dearborn has a very large Arab population.

Facts are stubborn things.

The FBI is keeping a close eye on Dearborn--which the Detroit News is reporting on.

An airplane linked to an FBI surveillance program that tracks alleged terrorists, spies and criminals has flown at least seven times over Metro Detroit, including two lengthy flights over the Dearborn area last weekend, according to public records.

The 2010 single-engine Cessna Skylane is part of a small air force operated by the FBI that uses high-tech cameras and sometimes cellphone surveillance technology. An Associated Press investigation in June revealed that the FBI had flown more than 100 flights in 11 states over a 30-day period.

Flight data reviewed by The Detroit News shows increased flights over Metro Detroit in the past week with prolonged surveillance over Dearborn, a city heavily populated by Muslims and Middle Eastern residents. In all, the FBI surveillance plane has flown over Metro Detroit seven times since Friday, according to the website FlightRadar24.com.

UPDATE 10:15pm CDT: The FBI says the flights involve a specific criminal probe and they are not using the plane in an anti-terrorism investigation.