Posted on 12/25/2009 3:53:18 PM PST by SilvieWaldorfMD
WASHINGTON — U.S. officials said a Northwest Airlines passenger from Nigeria said he was acting on behalf of al-Qaida when he tried to blow up a flight Friday as it landed in Detroit. And a White House official called the Christmas incident an attempted act of terrorism.
Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., identified the suspect as Abdul Mudallad. King said the flight began in Nigeria and went through Amsterdam en route to Detroit.
One of the U.S. intelligence officials said the explosive device was a mix of powder and liquid. It failed when the passenger tried to detonate it.
The passenger was being questioned Friday evening. “He appears to have had some kind of incendiary device he tried to ignite,” said one of the U.S. officials.
Authorities initially believed the passenger had set off firecrackers that caused some minor injuries.
Delta Air Lines spokeswoman Susan Elliott said the passenger was subdued immediately. She had no details on the injuries. Delta and Northwest have merged.
One passenger from the flight was taken to the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor, hospital spokeswoman Tracy Justice said. She didn't know the person's condition, or whether the person was a man or woman. She referred all inquiries to the FBI.
An FBI spokeswoman in Detroit said the incident is being investigated. It came just as the flight, an Airbus 330 carrying 278 passengers, was arriving in Detroit from Amsterdam. “Next thing you know, there was a lot of panic,” he said.
Rich Griffith, a passenger from Pontiac, said he was seated too far in the back to see what had happened. But he said he didn't mind being detained on the plane for several hours.
(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...
that would be 20 - 65 year old
And he chose Christmas because it was simply a random date on the calendar of no significance to American Christians.
I sure hope it didn't exceed the three hour limit placed by the Obama administration.
We wouldn't want for him to interrupt his vacation to reprimand the airlines for an inconvenience.
Oh? A potential terrorist attack too?
Never mind that, we have to ensure passengers don't sit on the plane.
He didn't succeed, so nothing to worry about there. Just don't inconvenience passengers.
“Maybe a little profiling wouldn’t hurt?”
Probably enhanced screening of wheelchair-bound, WWII vets.
http://pajamasmedia.com/richardfernandez/2009/12/25/over-detroit/
Belmont ClubDecember 25th, 2009 3:31 pm
Over DetroitAn incident previously described as a passenger setting off firecrackers on a Northwest Airlines flight between Amsterdam and Detroit is now being referred to as a possible terrorist attack. Fox News reports that a passenger tried to ignite a powder aboard the aircraft and was said to have been acting under instructions from al-Qaeda.
A male passenger reportedly linked to terrorist organization al-Qaeda ignited a powdery substance prior to landing on a Delta Airlines flight to Detroit Friday. The suspect is believed to be Nigerian, Fox News reported. …
The suspect, who suffered second-degree burns, told federal investigators he was directed by al-Qaeda, though authorities are questioning the veracity of that statement, ABC reported. A federal situational awareness bulletin noted that the explosive was acquired in Yemen with instructions as to when it should be used, ABC said.
The FBI was on the scene, Detroit office spokeswoman Sandra Berchtold told NewsCore. Berchtold declined to comment on the reports of a terrorist connection.
Earlier the BBC had described the event as involving “firecrackers”.
A passenger on board a transatlantic Northwest Airlines flight set off firecrackers as it was arriving in the US city of Detroit, the airline says. The blast caused panic on board the Airbus 330, which had flown from Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Several people were slightly injured.
ABC News now says the suspect was on a “no fly list” and that the powder he was trying to ignite was concealed taped to his leg. A syringe of chemicals was said to have been added to the mixture.
The man was apparently already on the government’s no-fly list of suspected terrorists, according to a senior intelligence official.
“The subject is claiming to have extremist affiliation and that the device was acquired in Yemen along with instructions as to when it should be used,” a federal situational awareness bulletin stated.
The suspect told authorities that he had explosive powder taped to his leg and used a syringe of chemicals to mix with the powder that was to cause explosion. This is of concert because it is a method of mixing that is consistent with terror techniques.
MSNBC, citing an airline source, says that a passenger jumped the man as he was trying to light the powder after two other passengers noticed him in the act. “Two people noticed the attempt and a third person jumped on the man and subdued him, an airline official told NBC News.” Additional reportage from Metro Detroit suggests the suspect had actually managed to ignite something before the passenger jumped him. The incident which took place around Row 16 was in the area where economy ended and business class began, if this seating layout of an NWA Airbus 330 is accurate. Metro Detroit wrote:
Syed Jafry of Holland, Mich., said people ran out of their seats to tackle the man. Jafry was sitting in the 16th row when he heard “a pop and saw some smoke and fire.”
Jafry said there was a little bit of commotion for about 10 to 15 minutes. He said the way passengers responded made him proud to be an American.
Passengers Richard Griffith of Pontiac said he was unaware of the incident until departing the plane. He said he was sitting in the back of the plane and did not “see or hear anything.” His wife and daughter, who had been waiting for him at the airport since about 11:40 a.m., said they saw a person they believe to be the suspect being transported from the airport. Dawn Griffith said he was “young looking” and was handcuffed to a stretcher, with his hands bandaged.
The area around Row 16 appears to be slightly forward or above the wing. Some versions of the Airbus A330 have a large central fuel tank around this area. A special article in the Daily Mail about the loss of another Airbus A330 — Air France 447 — highlighted the safety concerns over a “vapor filled central fuel tank” and the vulnerability of the Kapton wiring in this fly-by-wire airplane. A diagram of the fuel system of the A330 is shown below. Source: IASA
Ed Block, an American air investigator, has long been trying to draw attention to the dangers of some wire types. It was he who found the evidence of the likely cause of the disaster on TWA Flight 800, a Boeing 747 that blew up off Long Island in 1996, killing all 230 on board. He concluded the problem had been short circuits, or arcs, that ultimately led to sparking in the vapour-filled central fuel tank. …
On every model built until at least 2006 – Airbus won’t say if new aircraft are fitted with it now – it employed ‘aromatic polyimide’, better known by its trade name, Kapton. The next Atlantic disaster after TWA 800 shows why Block is concerned: the loss of the Kapton-wired Swissair Flight 111 off Nova Scotia in 1998, caused when its entertainment-system wiring caught fire. … In 2005 Nasa announced its space shuttles would not fly beyond 2010, partly because each contained 140 to 157 miles of Kapton. Worse, there was no reliable means to detect whether hidden lengths of wire were already damaged, and hence prone to arcing – an event which can produce temperatures in excess of 5,000°C and the spewing of red-hot copper ‘beebies’. …
Who knows whether al-Qaeda was aiming to damage the most vulnerable area of the A330? As more information comes in the reported facts may be clarified or changed. After all, the incident was originally described as a “firecracker” disturbance. But if initial reports settle down around the narrative, a number of questions suggest themselves.
•Did the security systems and procedures fail? How did a man on a no-fly list bring explosive powder and a syringe full of chemicals onto a plane from Schipol airport? •Was the airplane saved only the vigilance — some might call it vigilanteeism — of a passenger? After the Flying Imams case, it has become legally dangerous to presume too much. In this case the passengers appear to have acted on their instincts.
•Does the incident suggest that a wave of attacks has been planned over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays? Maybe there’s more information in the pike.
Because no one was killed or seriously injured. If there had been, this guy would have been just a deranged person looking for attention.
http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/explosives-northwest-airlines-plane-amsterdam-detroit/story?id=9423871
“The suspect was identified as Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, who according to federal documents is an engineering student at University College of London.
He was flying from Nigeria to the United States for a religious ceremony, according to his entry visa, which was issued June 16, 2008 and was good until June 12, 2010.”
Religious ceremony?
Yeah, jihad.
What is a two year visa? One for “seminarians?”
bookmark
There will be many more. Terrorists must be laughing at this weak sister, Obama.
Oh boy don’t get me started- when hubby and I were at the airport seeing son off after his leave, we watched them give some poor ancient wheelchair-bound man who could barely stand the third degree super search, it was ridiculous. That sort of thing makes me so angry.
At the first sight of a man with his pants on fire, passengers initially thought he was just another airline executive giving out information about delays and cancellations.
It wasn’t terrorism, the perp is a victim of discrimination. He is angry because Americans discriminate against Muslims.
Which is exactly why I do not fly.
Presbyterian. Definitely Presbyterian.
I wish the trains here were better. I really like train rides. I used to take the Metroliner between NYC and DC back in the 70’s/early 80’s. Very enjoyable and fast (3 hour trip). I was also fortunate enough to go on some train rides in Europe. But there, as a child, I was always a little paranoid because the stops were very short and it seemed we were always running to get on board lol
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