But at least our helicopters have big guns! (laverrue's flickr)

Yes, the NYPD has the capability to bring down an aircraft...but apparently not quite the kind of aircraft we all immediately thought of. Though yesterday Mayor Bloomberg told reporters that the NYPD "has lots of capabilities you don't know about and you won't know about them," today the Daily News has it from a "key police source" that the most our police force could realistically take down is a large crop duster.

"What was envisioned was a small aircraft ... coming down the Hudson," the source told the tabloid. "Al Qaeda was talking about targeting the West using crop dusters. There was a specific concern about using this type of aerial spraying of anthrax and some other biological chemicals. That also led to plans to equip our aircraft." Further, another source grumbles to the Post, “The bosses on this job are afraid to give you a lunch hour. Do you think they are going to give you the OK to shoot down a plane over Manhattan?”

Still, the NYPD is being very tight-lipped (shocking!) about what exactly its capabilities are, though the paper's source did confirm that it still owns Agusta 119 helicopters armed with .50-caliber semiautomatic rifles.

Meanwhile, the military and the FAA continue to refrain from commenting on the legality of local law enforcement shooting down an airplane.