Attempt to blow up airliner foiled

[Travis]

Yikes!

From the AP: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_airliner_disturbance

ROMULUS, Mich. – A Nigerian man who said he was an agent for al-Qaida tried to blow up a Northwest Airlines plane Friday as it was preparing to land in Detroit, but travelers who smelled smoke and heard what sounded like firecrackers rushed to subdue him, the passengers and federal officials said.

Flight 253 with 278 passengers and 11 crew members aboard was about 20 minutes from the airport when passengers heard popping noises, witnesses said. At least one person climbed over others and jumped on the man. Shortly afterward, the suspect was taken to the front of the plane with his pants cut off and his legs burned, a passenger said. Law enforcement officials said the burns indicated the explosive was strapped to his legs.

Talk about almost ruining the holidays.

 

[Thunder]

if this was an actual Al Qaeda mission, this does not make them look very scary and capable.

 

[themusicteacher]

Kudos to those who took action. Unlike the US government, some people actually learned a lesson from 9/11: don't sit idly by while you could take appropriate action to stop a terrorist act.

 

[Ladewig]

Kudos to those who took action. Unlike the US government, some people actually learned a lesson from 9/11: don't sit idly by while you could take appropriate action to stop a terrorist act.

Can you give an example of the US government sitting idly by when it could have take appropriate action to stop a terrorist act?

 

[Sideroxylon]

Kudos to those who took action. Unlike the US government, some people actually learned a lesson from 9/11: don't sit idly by while you could take appropriate action to stop a terrorist act.

Some on United Airlines Flight 93 didn't sit idly by either after they learnt of the fate of the other planes. I don't reckon 9/11 would have changed peoples reactions to the recent event with its immediate threat to life. Before 9/11 sitting back and letting the professionals handle things was probably the best bet in a hijack as opposed to someone intent on destroying the plane.

 

[JFrankA]

This kind of hit home for me.

In early November, I went to Germany to see my girlfriend. The flight back was a Delta flight going from Amsterdam to Detriot, and it landed at the same time.

When I fly, I tend to carry as little as possible. Just my laptop, a toothbrush, toothpaste, a deck of cards and reading materials. I stuff it all into my laptop backpack.

When I went through the gate, I had forgotten to take out my little plastic bag with my toothpaste and toothbrush in it out of the backpack, so it had to be searched.

The man proceeded to search the entire bag, pulling out pens and checking the deck of cards, etc. Then he picked up the zippered pouch that had my laptop power cords in it and put it on the table without opening it.

He kept searching the backpack until he found a tiny screwdriver. I mean one of those little things that is about the size of a pen. He held it in front of my face and in a very loud voice he said "NOT ALLOWED!!"

I apologized and said I forgotten to take it out when I started my trip. And kept quiet about the fact that no one had said word one about it when I came from the States to Germany in the first place.

"I SHALL THROW AWAY!!" Again, very loudly. I just nodded. He threw it in the garbage, then put all the stuff back in my backpack including the pouch that contains my power cords - something he hadn't even unzipped.

I was trying to keep a straight face because that pouch was big enough to easily hold a knife, a REAL screwdriver, or containers of liquids that could hold far more than 3 oz. In fact, it did hold the prescription pills and air sick pills I had to take at the time.

Now I'm seeing the news and it's the same flight (different day of course) and I can't help but wonder - if I got caught with a stupid small screwdriver, how the hell did this guy NOT get caught with explosives strapped to his legs???

...then I remember that the inspector didn't even bother checking a laptop cord bag.....

 

[JWideman]

Great. This means we'll be taking off our pants at the airport now.

 

[Unsecured Coins]

[SIZE=-1]So, shooting up a military base isn't terrorism, according to Obama[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]But lighting firecrackers on an airplane is. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=-1]Just wanted to clarify that, Mr. President. So, what you are saying is that when a muslim who was under investigation for proven extremist views opens fire at Ft. Hood killing and/or injuring dozens, that is NOT terrorism and we shouldn't just to conclusions. When a Nigerian lights firecrackers on an airplane injuring only himself, then we should declare it terrorism within two hours of the incident. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=-1]Thanks for clearing that up, Mr. President. I was a bit confused. You should invite Mr. Hasan and Mr. Firecracker to the 'House for beer.[/SIZE]

 

[Architect]

Kudos to those who took action. Unlike the US government, some people actually learned a lesson from 9/11: don't sit idly by while you could take appropriate action to stop a terrorist act.

[cough] John Smeaton [cough]

 

[TsarBomba]

Can you give an example of the US government sitting idly by when it could have take appropriate action to stop a terrorist act?

I would argue that the Fort Hood shooting incident qualifies. Although the government had no information (that we know of) regarding the specific terrorist attack, government officials appear to have either missed or ignored so many warning signs that their actions approach those of a farce.

 

[Whiplash]

Issues such as posting messages that are 100% full of win? And clearly, based on the fact that the best rebuttal one can come up with to what he said is to insult him using leetspeek?

 

[332nd]

[SIZE=-1]So, shooting up a military base isn't terrorism, according to Obama[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]But lighting firecrackers on an airplane is. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=-1]Just wanted to clarify that, Mr. President. So, what you are saying is that when a muslim who was under investigation for proven extremist views opens fire at Ft. Hood killing and/or injuring dozens, that is NOT terrorism and we shouldn't just to conclusions. When a Nigerian lights firecrackers on an airplane injuring only himself, then we should declare it terrorism within two hours of the incident. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=-1]Thanks for clearing that up, Mr. President. I was a bit confused. You should invite Mr. Hasan and Mr. Firecracker to the 'House for beer.[/SIZE]

So Hasan did claim connection to AQ or another terrorist group?

 

[Pardalis]

Kudos to the Dutch passenger who jumped on the guy.

 

[Beanbag]

Not to make light of the seriousness of the attempt, but I doubt the amount of explosive the guy was carrying would have done much real damage to the aircraft, especially if it was strapped to his legs and he was in his seat. Commercial aircraft are pretty ruggedly built. Small amounts of high explosive WILL do a lot of damage in a localized area if they are A) shaped correctly to focus the explosive force, and B) spaced properly from the surface of the object they are to destroy.

What you got was an open-air burst, and probably a low order detonation at that (think fizzle) because there wasn't anything to contain the shock wave to help propagate and increase the reaction. At best, I think he was hoping to distract the pilots at a critical point in the landing so as to force a crash. The plane was landing after an overseas flight, so it would be light on fuel and probably easier to control than when fully wet.

Hopefully, the detonation castrated the guy and made him eligible for a Darwin Award (you don't have to die, just render yourself incapable of passing on your genes).

Beanbag

 

[tyr_13]

Someone was reporting that it was indeed high explosives and that it didn't work because the detonator was too small. (That's always a big problem, right ladies?)

I couldn't figure out why it was during the landing, but it does make sense if he/they knew they couldn't get enough on board that way to actually bring the aircraft down.

EDIT: Has there been any confirmation that he was working with al-Qaida, or is he just claiming it?

 

[Thunder]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091227/ts_nm/us_security_airline

"An initial FBI analysis found the device contained PETN, also known as pentaerythritol, one of the explosives carried by "shoe bomber" Richard Reid in his failed attempt to blow up a U.S. passenger jet days before Christmas in 2001, months after the September 11 attacks."

the plot thickens.

 

[Beanbag]

Two points:

#1: They "win" even if the plane wasn't brought down, because they now have airtime and news coverage that they actaully managed to get explosives on board a plane despite security measures. The level of tension and fear goes up.

#2: Assuming their relatively small device managed to down the airliner, then (from their point of view) it would be advantageous to have it happen over land, where a thorough recovery of the wreckage and subsequent analysis would reveal a bomb did it. Over water, all you get are some scraps of floating debris, plus a possibly weeks-long search to find the sunken wreckage, after which A LOT of the chemical evidence has washed away. Small bomb, small residue. You get the desired results quicker by doing it over land. Lots of press, everyone worried.

It's a matter of gamesmanship. The days of stuffing a clothing-wrapped bomb in a suitcase and dropping it off at the check-in counter are gone.

Beanbag

 

[Thunder]

Two points:

#1: They "win" even if the plane wasn't brought down, because they now have airtime and news coverage that they actaully managed to get explosives on board a plane despite security measures. The level of tension and fear goes up.

indeed. the greater goal of terrorism..is terror. the lesser goal is a body count.

 

[Soapy Sam]

I will be flying in 9 days.
I'm not worried about bombs, but I'm not looking forward to even more half-arsed security checks which will doubtless be the result of this piece of stupidity.

 

[Shalamar]

I will be flying in 9 days.
I'm not worried about bombs, but I'm not looking forward to even more half-arsed security checks which will doubtless be the result of this piece of stupidity.

I just flew from Toronto to the States. The security was.. stupid. All Carry ons for all passengers were inspected, at the gate, along with a full pat down. My plane left 2 hours late.

We did get to walk without escort onto the tarmac to our plane though..

Oh yes. Passengers were also not allowed to have any personal items in the last hour of the flight. No laptops, no books, magazines, pillows, blankets.. NOTHING.