Passengers foil Terror Attack in the Air above Detroit

http://detroitiscrap.com

Flight 253 with 278 passengers aboard was 20 minutes from the airport when it sounded like a firecracker had exploded, witnesses said. One passenger jumped over others and tried to subdue the man. Shortly afterward, the suspect was taken to a front row seat with his pants cut off and his legs burned.

The White House said it believed it was an attempted act of terrorism and stricter security measures were quickly imposed on airline travel, but were not specified.

Law enforcement officials identified the suspect as Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab. Others had slightly different spellings.

One law enforcement source said the man claimed to have been instructed by al-Qaida to detonate the plane over U.S. soil.

"It sounded like a firecracker in a pillowcase," said Peter Smith, a passenger from the Netherlands. "First there was a pop, and then (there) was smoke."

At least one passenger acted heroically.

Smith said the passenger, sitting opposite the man, climbed over passengers, went across the aisle and tried to restrain the man. The heroic passenger appeared to have been burned.

The incident was reminiscent of convicted shoe bomber Richard Reid, who tried to destroy a trans-Atlantic flight in 2001 with explosives hidden in his shoes, but was subdued by other passengers. Reid is serving a life sentence.

Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., ranking GOP member of the House Homeland Security Committee, said the flight began in Nigeria and went through Amsterdam en route to Detroit.

King identified the suspect as 23-year-old Abdul Mudallah of Nigeria, and King said Mudallah "definitely has connections" to Al Qaeda.

King said Mudallah was not on any terrorism watchlist.

"This could have been catastrophic," said King, speaking to "FOX Report" Friday night. "We were lucky on this one."

A statement Delta, which acquired Northwest, said, "Upon approach to Detroit, a passenger caused a disturbance onboard Northwest Airlines Flight 253. The passenger was subdued immediately and the crew requested that law enforcement meet the flight upon arrival.

"The flight, operated by Northwest using an Airbus 330-300 aircraft with 278 passengers onboard, landed safely. The passenger was taken into custody and questioned by law enforcement authorities."

The FBI and the Homeland Security Department issued an intelligence note on Nov. 20 about the threat picture for the 2009 holiday season from Thanksgiving through Jan. 1. At the time, intelligence officials said they had no specific information about attack plans by al-Qaida or other terrorist groups. The intelligence note was obtained by The Associated Press.

President Barack Obama was notified of the incident and discussed it with security officials, the White House said. It said he is monitoring the situation and receiving regular updates from his vacation spot in Hawaii.

There was nothing out of the ordinary about Flight 253 on Friday until it was on final approach to Detroit, said Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory. That is when the pilot declared an emergency and landed without incident shortly thereafter, Cory said. The plane landed at 12:51 p.m. EST.

One U.S. intelligence official 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. An intelligence source said the Nigerian passenger was being held and treated in an Ann Arbor, Mich., hospital.

All the sources spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was continuing.

The official said an official determination of a terrorist act would have to come from the attorney general. The official added that additional security measures were being taken without raising the airline threat level, but declined to describe them.

The White House was coordinating briefings for the president through the Homeland Security Department, the Transportation Security Administration and the FBI.

A law enforcement source said the explosives may have been strapped to the man's body but investigators weren't immediately certain, partly because of the struggle with other passengers.

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.

Passenger Syed Jafri, a U.S. citizen who had flown from the United Arab Emirates, said the incident occurred during the plane's descent. Jafri said he was seated three rows behind the passenger and

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• nigerian
• terror
• al-qaida
• attack
• 911
• terrorist
• detroit
• airplane
• plane
• islam
• passengers

[i1b2c3]

i would have killed that mother fucker, before they had a chance to take him off the plane. peace of shit that he is.

[justagirlinthehood]

what the hell are these muslims thinking. they take down one plane and that's supposed to be a victory for them? they knocked down both WTC towers, hit the pentagon, crashed another plane and nothing has changed. they are still living in some shit hole country, we are still sending many of these muslim countries our tax dollars, we are engaging in fake wars for billion dollar contracts not to win anything though...its all a tragic game. blowing up that plane would have changed nothing.

[RayAir1]

This is a crock of shit. The guy was let on the plane by the U.S State Dept without a passport and they were ordered to do so by an un-named three letter U.S agency (probably CIA). Can you say staged terror? And what a perfect time this happened as Michael Chertoff (former DHS chief) was trying to get airports to buy his naked body scanners. And one this happened DHS was saying, "see we need those scanners".

Ask Questions America. Demand answers.

[gp4nut]

@i1b2c3 i agree. kill the cunt. jail is too good. give them a sharia fucking punishment, a beat down from all the passengers.

[Bdiddly1]

@shahada2009 -&heres me thinking rappers invented nigger!lol

[Truthisgreater]

The same Israeli firm who did security at Logan and Newark at 9/11, the London Underground at 7/7, and Gatwick london where the alleged show bomber boarded also do it in amsterdam.

[thekingofassholes]

wordprophet, what SHIT you are writing here! The other passengers saw it with their OWN eyes and they had to prevent the explosion from happening! And you are trying to tell us it's propaganda - that's beyond fucked up!

[bobbytiger]

Americans should demand adequate flying security, by insisting that Obama ride coach,

with the rest of us insignificant people.

That should do it.

[royalwelshguards]

Let me explain to you why the Amsterdam authorities failed to spot the liquid bomb. The Dutch are fairly familiar with the fact that nignogs have big bongos, and so when the lady security guard at Schipol Airport noticed the massive bulge in Abdulmuttalab's trousers, she simply assumed that this nignog was happy to see her, and so she let him pass. It's as simple as that.

[tenminutesgone]

This case is about an Al Qaeda bomber trying to blow up a plane. He, like millions of other people, has been sold a lie, and follows without thought.

Bin Laden offered his soldiers to Saudi Arabia when that nation was threatened by Saddam. Saudi declined his offer & invited the US to protect them instead. This incensed Bin Laden, who declared war on the USA & West. The rest is history.

[tsm124]

im sry but one guy and nobody gets hurt yea that guy is not getting out of the plane with out getting the shit kicked out of him by all 200 something passengers

[shahada2009]

anyone who inject racist comments in a situation such as this is wrong. This is a case of an extremist attempted attack and the man's father told US Embassy in Nigeria of his sons plot. And, nigger is a term created by white racist slavers and there is no country in Africa by that name and those who use this terlm and attribute it Africa is quite ingnorant. This case is about extremist trying to exact revenge for US's killings in the Muslim world and aiding corrupt Muslims to do their work!