Northwest Airlines Flight 253: Difference between revisions

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{{about|the attempted bombing of a civilian plane in 2009|the Cold War incident in 1968|Seaboard World Airlines Flight 253}}
{{about|the attempted bombing of a civilian plane in 2009|the Cold War incident in 1968|Seaboard World Airlines Flight 253}}
{{fancruft}}
{{Infobox Aircraft occurrence
{{Infobox Aircraft occurrence
|name = Northwest Airlines Flight 253
|name = Northwest Airlines Flight 253

Revision as of 15:55, 3 January 2010

This article is about the attempted bombing of a civilian plane in 2009. For the Cold War incident in 1968, see Seaboard World Airlines Flight 253.
Northwest Airlines Flight 253
A large twin-engined jet aircraft with its landing gear down. The plane is painted white, with a navy and blue vertical stabilizer, and blue jet engine housings.
An Airbus A330 similar to the one involved in the Flight 253 incident.
DateDecember 25, 2009
SummaryFailed bombing with pentaerythritol tetranitrate
SiteRomulus, Michigan, U.S.
42°12′29″N 83°21′22″W / 42.208°N 83.356°W / 42.208; -83.356
Aircraft
Aircraft typeAirbus A330-323E
OperatorNorthwest Airlines
RegistrationN820NWdisaster[1]
Flight originAmsterdam Airport Schiphol
DestinationDetroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport
Passengers278
Crew11
Fatalities0
Injuries2 victims and 1 bomber
Survivors289 (all)

Northwest Airlines Flight 253 is a flight from Amsterdam, Netherlands, to Detroit, Michigan, that was targeted in a failed al-Qaeda bombing attempt on Christmas Day, December 25, 2009. The flight is a regular route flown by Northwest which services the large Dutch community in Michigan.

The attempt occurred as the plane was on its final descent, 20 minutes from landing and with 290 people on board. After the attempt failed, the plane landed in Detroit without any fatalities. The plane was a Delta Air Lines liveried (Northwest Airlines operated) Airbus A330-323E.

The suspected bomber was passenger Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a 23-year-old Nigerian. He attempted to detonate plastic explosives concealed in his underwear. They failed to detonate properly, resulting only in flames and firecracker-like popping sounds. A Dutch passenger, Jasper Schuringa, tackled and restrained him as others put out the fire. Abdulmutallab was handcuffed while the pilot made an emergency landing. Three people were injured—the bomber, Schuringa, and another passenger.

As of August 2009, Abdulmutallab had been studying in Yemen. He cut off contact with his family that October, and his worried father reported his disappearance and "extreme religious views" to a U.S. embassy in Nigeria on November 17. On December 24 he entered Nigeria, and with a valid U.S. visa and a round-trip ticket from Lagos to Detroit, he passed all the normal airport security checks, transferring planes in Amsterdam onto Flight 253. As a result of his father's warning, Abdulmutallab's name had been added to the U.S.'s central international terrorist database before the attack, but not to shorter search-before-boarding and no-fly watchlists, and his visa was not revoked. Several reports of pre-attack intelligence linked the suspect to Anwar al-Awlaki, a Yemen-based senior al-Qaeda figure who was also linked to three of the 9/11 hijackers and the Fort Hood shooter. Reports also indicated the U.S. had received intelligence regarding a planned attack by a Yemeni-based Nigerian man.

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, stated shortly after the terrorist attack, that: "The system worked". U.S. President Barack Obama, in contrast, described the U.S.'s failure to prevent the bombing attempt as "totally unacceptable," and ordered an investigation.

The suspect was arrested and arraigned, and spent two days in a hospital before being transferred to a federal prison to await further legal proceedings. On December 26, investigators said the suspect told them that al-Qaeda had instructed him and provided the bomb, and on December 28 Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) said it was responsible for the failed attack. Abdulmutallab was charged with attempting to blow up a U.S. civil airplane, a charge which carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison. However, he has yet to be indicted by a grand jury, which would be empowered to add other charges.

Incident

On Christmas Eve, December 24, 2009, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a 23-year-old Nigerian man, arrived at Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos, Nigeria. He had purchased his $2,831 Lagos-Amsterdam-Detroit round-trip ticket with cash eight days earlier at the KLM office in Accra, Ghana, with a January 8, 2010, return date.[2][3][4] He left Lagos that evening at 11 pm aboard KLM Flight 588, a Boeing 777 bound for Schiphol Airport (AMS) in Amsterdam.[5][6]

In Amsterdam on Christmas Day, he checked in after showing a valid Nigerian passport and current U.S. visa.[7] With only carry-on luggage, he left Amsterdam around 8:45 am local time on a Northwest Airlines Airbus A330-300 twinjet, with 279 passengers, 8 flight attendants, and 3 pilots aboard.[8][9][10] The plane was scheduled to arrive in Detroit at 11:40 am EST,[11][10][12] and was painted in Delta Air Lines' livery, as Northwest was a wholly owned subsidiary of Delta.[13][14]

Witnesses reported that as the plane approached Detroit, Abdulmutallab went into the plane's bathroom for about 20 minutes. After returning to his seat at 19A (near the fuel tanks and wing, and against the skin of the plane),[15] he complained that he had an upset stomach.[10][16] He was then seen pulling a blanket over himself.[10]

About 20 minutes before the plane landed, while flying over Middlesex County, Ontario, Canada,[17] he secretly ignited a small explosive device consisting of a mix of plastic explosive powder[9][18] and liquid acid.[10][19][20][21][22] Abdulmutallab apparently had a packet of the plastic explosive sewn to his underwear, and used a syringe containing liquid acid to cause a chemical reaction.[20] While there were an explosion and fire, the device failed to detonate properly.[10][23][21] Passengers heard popping noises resembling firecrackers, smelled an odor, and saw the suspect's trouser leg and the wall of the plane on fire.[10]

"There was smoke and screaming and flames. It was scary."[24]

While there were not any air marshals on the flight,[25] several passengers and crew noticed the attack. A passenger seated on the far side of the same row, Jasper Schuringa from the Netherlands, tackled and overpowered Abdulmutallab.[26][27][28] Schuringa saw the suspect's trousers were open, and that he was holding a burning object between his legs. "I pulled the object from him and tried to extinguish the fire with my hands and threw it away," said Schuringa, who suffered burns to his hands. Meanwhile, flight attendants extinguished the fire with a fire extinguisher and blankets,[10][29][30][31] and a passenger removed the partially melted, smoking syringe from Abdulmutallab's hand.[10]

The Detroit Metropolitan Airport is located in the suburb of Romulus, Michigan

Schuringa grabbed the suspect, and pulled him to the front of the plane.[27] A passenger reported that Abdulmutallab, though burned "quite severely" on his leg, seemed "very calm," and like a "normal individual."[29] Schuringa stripped off the suspect's clothes to check for other explosives, and a crew member helped handcuff Abdulmutallab. "He was staring into nothing," Schuringa said.[27] Passengers applauded as Schuringa walked back to his seat.[27]

The suspect was isolated from other passengers until after the plane landed.[10][21][32] A flight attendant asked Abdulmutallab what he had in his pocket, and the suspect replied: "Explosive device."[10]

When the attack triggered a fire indicator light within the cockpit, the pilot requested rescue and law enforcement. The plane made an emergency landing at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in the Downriver Detroit community of Romulus, Michigan, just before 1 pm local time.[10][33] The airport is about 20 miles southwest of Detroit and the adjacent international border.[34]

Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport

Nick Rapagna, the secretary treasurer of the Canadian division of the Airline Pilots Association, said the crew members landed in Detroit because the aircraft was in the process of descending for a landing there, where a Northwest crew base and Northwest infrastructure were located. Kevin Psutka, president of the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association, opined that many airports in southern Ontario would have had difficulty accepting a plane the size of the Airbus A330, and that if it had landed in Canada, the crew would have had to go to "Toronto or maybe London, Ontario."[17]

While the plane itself suffered relatively little damage,[35] the suspect suffered third-degree burns and two other passengers were injured.[36][37] When the plane landed, Abdulmutallab was handed over to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers, and taken into custody for questioning and treatment of his injuries in a secured room of the burn unit of the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor.[38] Schuringa was also taken to the hospital.[27][10][23][21] One other passenger incurred minor injuries.[23][37]

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents arrived at the airport after the plane landed.[39] The aircraft was moved to a remote area so authorities could re-screen the plane, the passengers, and the baggage on-board.[40] A bomb-defusing robot was first used to board the plane,[23] and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) interviewed all passengers.[30] Another passenger from the flight was placed in handcuffs, searched, and released after a dog alerted officers to his carry-on luggage.[41][42][43]

Explosives

The substance that the suspect tried to detonate was reportedly more than Template:G to oz of pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN), a crystalline powder that is often the active ingredient of plastic explosives.[44] It is among the most powerful of explosives, in the same chemical family as nitroglycerin. The powder was analyzed by the FBI at Quantico,[45] and an FBI affidavit filed in the Eastern District of Michigan[46][10] reflected preliminary findings that the device contained PETN.[47] The authorities also found the remains of the syringe.[46][10] The suspect apparently carried the PETN onto the plane in a six-inch-long[20] soft plastic container, possibly a condom, attached to his underwear. However, much of the container was lost in the fire.[48] ABC News cited a government test indicating that Template:G to oz of PETN can blow a hole in the side of an airliner, and posted photos of the remains of Abdulmutallab's underwear and syringe.[20]

Al-Qaeda member Richard Reid (the "Shoe Bomber") tried to detonate 50 grams of the same explosive in his shoes during an American Airlines flight on December 22, 2001.[49] This attack was near the eighth anniversary of Reid's attempt.[50] In addition, in August 2009, an al-Qaeda bomber from Yemen with PETN hidden in his anal cavity blew himself up near the Saudi deputy Interior Minister in charge of counter-terrorism, Prince Muhammad bin Nayef.[51][52][53]

Umar Abdulmutallab

Main article: Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the suspected bomber

The suspect is Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.[23][19][54][55] He is the youngest of 16 children[56] of Alhaji Umaru Mutallab; one of the richest men in Africa—and the prominent former Chairman of First Bank of Nigeria, and former Nigerian Federal Commissioner for Economic Development. His mother, who is from Yemen, is the second of his father's two wives.[56][27][57] Abdulmutallab was raised initially in Kaduna, in Nigeria's Muslim-dominated north.[56]

In high school at the British International School in Lomé, Togo,[27] Abdulmutallab was known as a devout Muslim and for preaching about Islam to his schoolmates.[58] He visited the U.S. for the first time in 2004.[59]

Abdulmutallab was also in Yemen for a year from 2004-05, taking a course at the San'a Institute for the Arabic Language in Sana'a, and attending lectures at Imam University.[60][61][62][63][64]

He began his studies at University College London in September 2005, where he studied Engineering with Business Finance,[65] and earned a degree in mechanical engineering in June 2008.[56][58][9][21][66][67] He was president of the school's Islamic Society in 2006 and 2007, during which time, along with political discussions, activities included martial arts training and paintballing; at least one of the Society's paintballing trips involved a preacher who reportedly said: “Dying while fighting jihad is one of the surest ways to paradise.”[68][64] During those years he “crossed the radar screen” of MI5, the UK's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency, for radical links and “multiple communications” with Islamic extremists (though none of the information was passed to American officials).[69][70] His last known address is a ₤4 million apartment on Mansfield Street, Central London, close to Oxford Street and near the college.[27][71] It was searched by the London Metropolitan Police after the attack.[72]

On June 12, 2008, Abdulmutallab applied for and received from the U.S. consulate in London a U.S. multiple-entry visa, valid to June 12, 2010, with which he visited Houston, Texas, from August 1–17, 2008.[73][74]

From January until July 2009, he attended a master's of international business degree program at University of Wollongong in Dubai.[75][76][77]

In May 2009 Abdulmutallab tried to return to Britain, ostensibly for a six-month "life coaching" program at what the British authorities concluded was a fictitious school; accordingly, his visa application was denied by the United Kingdom Border Agency.[58] His name was placed on a UK Home Office security watch list, which BBC News said meant he could not come into the UK, though he could pass through the country in transit and was not permanently banned; the UK did not share the information with other countries.[78][79]

Abdulmutallab's father agreed in July 2009 to his request to return to the San'a Institute for the Arabic Language in Yemen to study Arabic from August to September 2009.[56][64] He arrived in the country in August, but apparently left the Institute after a month while remaining in-country.[56][80][64] His family became concerned in August 2009 when he called them to say he had dropped the course, but was remaining there.[56] By September he routinely skipped his classes at the Institute and attended lectures at Imam University, notorious for suspected links to terrorism.[64] “He told me his greatest wish was for sharia and Islam to be the rule of law across the world,” said one of his classmates at the Institute.[64]

The Institute obtained an exit visa for him, and on September 21 arranged for a car that took him to the airport; but the school's director said: "After that, we never saw him again, and apparently he did not leave Yemen".[81] In October, Abdulmutallab sent his father a text message saying that he was no longer interested pursuing an MBA in Dubai, and wanted instead to study sharia and Arabic in a seven-year course in Yemen.[64] His father threatened to cut off his funding, whereupon Abdulmutallab said he was “already getting everything for free”.[64] He texted his father: "I've found a new religion, the real Islam". And ultimately, "You should just forget about me, I'm never coming back", “Please forgive me. I will no longer be in touch with you”, and "Forgive me for any wrongdoing, I am no longer your child".[82][64][56] The family last had contact with Abdulmutallab in October 2009.[83]

Yemeni officials said that he was in Yemen from early August 2009, overstayed his student visa (which was valid through September 21), and left Yemen on December 7 (flying to Ethiopia, and then a few days later to Ghana).[84][85]

His father made a report to two CIA officers at the U.S. Embassy in Abuja, Nigeria, on November 19[56][86] regarding his son's "extreme religious views", and told the embassy that Abdulmutallab might be in Yemen.[27][87][66][64] Acting on the report, the suspect's name was added in November 2009 to the US's 550,000-name Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment, a database of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center. It was not added, however, to the FBI's 400,000-name Terrorist Screening Database, the terror watch list that feeds both the 14,000-name Secondary Screening Selectee list and the US's 4,000-name No Fly List.[88] Nor was his U.S. visa revoked.[64] Abdulmutallab's name had come to the attention of intelligence officials many months before that,[89] but no "derogatory information" was recorded about him.[74] A Congressional official said that Abdulmutallab's name appeared in US reports reflecting that he had connections to both al-Qaeda and Yemen.[16]

Two days after the attack, Abdulmutallab was released from the hospital in which he had been treated for burns sustained during the attempted bombing. He is in Federal Correctional Institution, Milan, a federal prison in Milan, Michigan.[90][91]

Ties to Anwar al-Awlaki

Main article: Anwar al-Awlaki
Anwar al-Awlaki, who reportedly had ties to Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.

A number of sources reported ties and communications between Abdulmutallab and Anwar al-Awlaki, a Muslim lecturer and spiritual leader who has been accused of being a senior al-Qaeda talent recruiter and motivator linked to various terrorists. Al-Awlaki, previously an imam in the U.S. who more recently lived in Yemen, also has links to three of the 9/11 hijackers, the 2005 London subway bombers, a 2006 Toronto terror cell, a 2007 plot to attack Fort Dix, and the 2009 suspected Fort Hood shooter, Nidal Malik Hasan.[92][93][94][95]

While al-Awlaki was banned from entering England in 2006, he spoke on at least seven occasions at five different venues around Britain via video-link in 2007-09.[96] He gave a number of video-link lectures at the East London Mosque during this period, one to Islamic student societies at the University of Westminster in September 2008, one at an arts centre in East London in April 2009 (after Tower Hamlets council gave its approval), one to worshippers at the Al Huda Mosque in Bradford, and one to an event staged by the Cageprisoners organisation in September 2008 at the Wandsworth Civic Suite, in south London.[96] His videos, which discuss his Islamist theories, have circulated in England.[97][98][99]

With a blog and a Facebook page, he has been described as the "bin Laden of the internet."[100]

Representative Pete Hoekstra, the senior Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, said on the day of the attack that officials in the Obama administration and officials with access to law enforcement information told him "there are reports [the suspect] had contact [with al-Awlaki].... The question we'll have to raise is was this imam in Yemen influential enough to get some people to attack the U.S. again."[101][102][103]

Hoekstra added in an interview: "The suspicion is ... that [the suspect] had contact with al-Awlaki. The belief is this is a stronger connection with al-Awlaki" than Hasan had.[104] Hoekstra later said that credible sources told him Abdulmutallab "most likely" has ties with al-Awlaki.[105][106]

The Sunday Times established that Abdulmutallab first met al-Awlaki in 2005 in Yemen while he was studying Arabic.[70] During that time the suspect attended lectures by al-Awlaki.[64]

Fox News reported that evidence collected during searches of "flats or apartments of interest" connected to Abdulmutallab in London showed that he was a "big fan" of al-Awlaki, as web traffic showed he followed Awlaki's blog and website.[107] CBS News and The Daily Telegraph reported that Abdulmutallab was at a talk by al-Awlaki at the East London Mosque (which al-Awlaki may have attended by video teleconference).[108][96] The two are also "thought to have met" in London, according to The Daily Mail.[109]

University of Oxford historian, and professor of international relations, Mark Almond wrote that the suspect was "on American security watch-lists because of his links with ... Al-Awlaki".[110]

CBS News said that the two were communicating in the months before the bombing attempt, and sources say that at a minimum al-Awlaki was providing spiritual support.[111] The Washington Post reported that according to federal sources, over the year prior to the attack, Abdulmutallab intensified electronic communications with al-Awlaki.[112] The paper also reported that one government source described intercepted "voice-to-voice communication" between the two during the fall of 2009, saying that al-Awlaki "was in some way involved in facilitating [Abdulmutallab]'s transportation or trip through Yemen. It could be training, a host of things."[113]

The Times reported that Abdulmutallab told the FBI that al-Awlaki was one of his trainers when he underwent al-Qaeda training in remote camps in Yemen, and that there were "informed reports" that Abdulmutallab met al-Awlaki during his final weeks of training and indoctrination prior to the attack.[114][115] The Los Angeles Times reported that according to a U.S. intelligence official, intercepts and other information point to connections between the two:

"Some of the information ... comes from Abdulmutallab, who ... said that he met with al-Awlaki and senior al-Qaeda members during an extended trip to Yemen this year, and that the cleric was involved in some elements of planning or preparing the attack and in providing religious justification for it. Other intelligence linking the two became apparent after the attempted bombing, including communications intercepted by the National Security Agency indicating that the cleric was meeting with "a Nigerian" in preparation for some kind of operation."[116]

Yemen's Deputy Prime Minister for Defense and Security Affairs, Rashad Mohammed al-Alimi, said Yemeni investigators believe the suspect traveled in October to Shabwa, where he met with suspected al-Qaida members in a house built by al-Awlaki and used by al-Awlaki to hold theological sessions, and that Abdulmutallab was trained and equipped there with his explosives.[117] "If he went to Shabwa, for sure he would have met Anwar al-Awlaki," al-Alimi said. Al-Alimi also said he believed al-Awlaki is alive.[118] And Abdul Elah al-Shaya, a Yemeni journalist, said a healthy al-Awlaki called him on December 28 and said that the Yemeni government's claims as to his death were "lies". Shaya declined to comment as to whether al-Awlaki had told him about any contacts he may have had with Abdulmutallab. According to Gregory Johnsen, a Yemeni expert at Princeton University, Shaya is generally reliable.[119]

Al-Qaeda involvement

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) announced that it was responsible for the attempted bombing. AQAP said that the attack during "their (Christians) celebration of the Christmas holidays" was to "avenge U.S. attacks on the militants in Yemen".[120][121] The NEFA Foundation posted al-Qaeda's statement.[122]

While in custody, Abdulmutallab told authorities he had been directed by al-Qaeda. He said he had obtained the device in Yemen, along with instructions from al-Qaeda as to how to use it and to detonate it when the plane was over U.S. soil.[27] Abdulmutallab said he had contacted al-Qaeda through a radical Yemeni imam (who according to The New York Times on December 26 was not believed to be al-Awlaki)[74] whom he had reached through the internet.[36]

The New York Times reported on December 25 that a counter-terrorism official had told them Abdulmutallab's claim "may have been aspirational".[123] But U.S. Representative Jane Harman (D-Calif.), Chairman of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing, and Terrorism Risk Assessment, said the following day that a federal official briefed lawmakers about "strong suggestions of a Yemen-al Qaeda connection" with the suspect.[124] On January 2, 2010, President Obama said that AQAP trained, equipped, and dispatched Abdulmutallab.[125]

In reaction to indications the suspect was equipped and dispatched to attack the U.S. by AQAP, it was suggested that the U.S. launch a military offensive against the alleged terrorists' sanctuary. Already before the aborted attack, Yemeni forces equipped with U.S. weapons and intelligence had carried out two major raids against AQAP. A day before the attack on Flight 253 the group might have been beheaded by an airstrike on a meeting that may have been attended by AQAP's two top leaders, as well as al-Awalaki.[126]

Reactions and investigations

Governments

The U.S. investigation into the incident is being managed by the FBI.[55] Among other questions, it is attempting to answer the following: what training did Abdulmutallab receive, who else (if anyone) was in the training program, are others preparing to launch similar attacks, was the attack part of a larger (possibly worldwide) plot, was it a test run, who assisted him, who gave him the chemicals, who sewed the explosives in his underwear, who further radicalized him, who sent him on his way, and how was he able to smuggle the explosives past airport security.[127][128][129] The FBI and the Dutch military police are also following up on testimony by witnesses Kurt and Lori Haskell that an accomplice may have helped Abdulmutallab board the plane in Amsterdam, attempting to negotiate with airline officials to get Abdulmutallab on the plane without presenting a passport.[130][131][132][133][134]

President Barack Obama was notified of the incident by an aide while on a vacation in Kailua, Hawaii, and spoke with officials from the Department of Homeland Security.[40] Obama instructed that all appropriate measures be taken,[135] and the White House called the attack an act of terrorism.[19] However, Attorney General Eric Holder has not declared the incident an official terrorist act.[136]

Representative Hoekstra said that Detroit in particular may not have been singled out for the attack, but rather that the focus may have simply been to attack a destination with many international travelers.[137] In addition, it was suggested that it is possible that the attack was a test to see if such materials could pass through screening, and how much damage the blast would cause.[48] The U.S. is examining what information it had before the attack, why its National Counterterrorism Center did not put together the warning from Abdulmutallab's father and intercepts by the National Security Agency (NSA) of conversations among Yemeni al-Qaida leaders about a "Nigerian" to be used for an attack (months before the attack took place), and why the suspect's U.S. visa was not revoked after his father's warning.[138][64]

One U.S. intelligence officer said on December 30:

"Abdulmutallab's father didn't say his son was a terrorist" when he visited the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria, "let alone planning an attack. Not at all. I'm not aware of some magic piece of intelligence that suddenly would have flagged this guy—whose name nobody even had until November—as a killer en route to America, let alone something that anybody withheld."[139]

Representative Hoekstra questioned, however, why the apparent links were not put together before the attack took place, saying:

“You would think if you did a Google search on these different threads, it would bring these things together quickly. There are organizations that deal with massive amounts of data in real time every day. Talk to MasterCard.”[140]

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said that the UK would take "whatever action was necessary" in response to the attempted bombing. The day after the attack, British police sealed off Mansfield Street, in Marylebone, London, where the suspect had reportedly lived in a family-owned flat.[141]

A Dutch military police spokesperson said that Abdulmutallab did not go through passport control at Schiphol, where large numbers of passengers are processed en-route to North America from Africa, and the Dutch counter-terrorism agency NCTb said that it had started a probe into where the suspect originated.[142][143] A preliminary investigation, however, found no security lapses, and despite being listed as having a potential terrorism connection, the suspect had a valid U.S. visa.[144] Dutch officials also said that they will now use 3D full-body scanning x-ray technology on flights departing to the U.S.[145] Body scanners are being implemented despite concerns from privacy advocates. Dutch officials said that security must take priority over the privacy of the individuals being scanned. The developer of the technology said the scanned imagery does not compromise individuals' privacy, as the imagery resolution is too low to display the body in anatomical detail; however, it would certainly detect non-metallic objects under clothing, such as powdered explosives.[146]

Members of the Second Chamber (Lower House) of the Dutch parliament demanded an explanation from Minister of Justice Hirsch Ballin, asking how the suspect managed to smuggle explosives on board, despite Schiphol's reportedly strict security measures.[147][148]

The incident raised concern regarding security procedures at Nigeria's major international airports in Lagos and Abuja, where tests for explosive materials are not conducted on carry-on baggage and shoes, and where bags are allowed to pass quickly through x-ray scanners.[149] In response to strong international criticism, Nigerian civil aviation officer Harold Demuran announced that Nigeria will also set up full-body scanning x-ray machines in Nigerian airports.[146]

Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines, which owns Northwest, said its Detroit group did not handle security for the flight.[39] It released a statement calling the incident a "disturbance," and saying that Delta was "cooperating fully with authorities".[150]

Jasper Schuringa

Jasper Schuringa, who was en route to Miami for a vacation, stopped the attack, and was burned in the process. He is a resident in Amsterdam, and was born in 1971. Schuringa is a graduate of Leiden University, Leiden. He is a film director of low-budget Dutch films for an Amsterdam-based media company, and was the assistant director for National Lampoon's Teed Off Too.[151][152]

Dutch Deputy Prime Minister Wouter Bos phoned Schuringa on behalf of the Dutch government the day after the attack, and conveyed the government's compliments and gratitude for Schuringa's part in overpowering the suspect.[153][154] Dutch Member of Parliament Geert Wilders[155] called Schuringa "a national hero" who "deserves a royal honor", which Wilders said he would ask the Dutch government to award.[156][157] [158]. According to the Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant, even Queen Beatrix expressed her feelings of gratitude towards Schuringa, though it wasn't made public how she had done this.[159]

Criminal charges

On December 26, a criminal complaint was filed against Abdulmutallab in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, charging Abdulmutallab with placing a destructive device in proximity to and attempting to destroy a U.S. civil aircraft.[10] The U.S. Attorney's Office assigned federal prosecutors Jonathan Tukel, chief of the counter-terrorism unit, and Eric Straus, former chief of the same unit, to the case.[72] Abdulmutallab was arraigned and officially charged by U.S. District Court Judge Paul D. Borman later the same day at the University of Michigan Hospital.[160]

Based upon these charges, Abdulmutallab would face up to 20 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine.[161][162] However, according to the Detroit News:

Abdulmutallab could face more serious charges if he is indicted by a grand jury, interim U.S. Attorney Terrence Berg confirmed ... "The prosecution team ... will review the evidence and determine what charges, including possibly any other charges, to ask the grand jury to consider," Berg said.

Shoe bomber Richard Reid was initially charged in a complaint filed in federal court ... in 2001 with interfering with an airline flight crew, also a 20-year felony.

But Reid—now serving a life sentence—was indicted in early 2002 by a federal grand jury on charges that included attempted murder and attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction.[163]

Borman set a detention hearing for January 8, 2010,[73] and Abdulmutallab was assigned public defenders Miriam Seifer and Jill Price.[161]

Aftermath

Effect on travel

The U.S. government did not raise the Homeland Security Advisory System terrorist threat level, orange at the time (high risk of terrorist attacks), following the attack.[30][21] However, the Department of Homeland Security said that additional security measures would be in place for the remainder of the Christmas travel period.[40] The TSA detailed several of the measures, including a restriction on movement and access to personal items during the last hour of flight for planes entering U.S. airspace. The TSA also said that there would be more officers and security dogs at airports.[9]

British Airways said that passengers flying to the U.S. would only be permitted one carry-on item.[164] Other European countries increased baggage screening, pat-down searches, and random searches for passengers traveling to the U.S. A spokesperson for the Dutch airport used by the attacker said that heightened security would be in place for "an indefinite period".[165] On December 28 Transport Canada announced that for several days it would not allow passengers flying to the U.S. from Canada a carry-on bag, with some exceptions.[166]

On December 27, a Lufthansa flight headed for Detroit was diverted to Iceland when it was discovered to be carrying a bag from a passenger who was not on the plane.[167] In addition, a passenger on a Baltimore-to-New York flight was detained when a firecracker was discovered in the seat he had used.[168]

December 27, 2009 incident

On December 27, 2009, the crew of Flight 253 requested emergency assistance with a Nigerian passenger who they said had become "verbally disruptive".[169][170][171] The crew questioned the passenger after other passengers expressed concern that he had been in the bathroom for over an hour. It was later determined that the man was a businessman who had fallen ill from food poisoning during the flight, and did not pose any security risk.[172]

U.S. political fallout

Beginning on the day of the incident, Obama was kept informed via secure conference calls and follow-up briefings.[173]

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano said several times on Sunday talk shows that "the system had worked", a statement that engendered some controversy.[39][174] The next day they retracted the statement, saying that the system had in fact "failed miserably."[174] According to Napolitano, her initial statement had referred to the rapid response to the attack that included alerts sent to all 128 other aircraft in U.S. airspace at the time, and new security requirements for the final hour of every flight, rather than the security failures that allowed the attack to happen.[175]

The day after the attack, the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee and Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee both announced that they would hold hearings in January 2010 to investigate how the device passed through security, and whether further restrictions should be placed on air travel; the Senate hearings will begin on January 21.[11][46][176]

Four days after the attack, Obama said publicly that Abdulmutallab's ability to board the aircraft was the result of systemic failure that included an inadequate sharing of information among U.S. government agencies. He called the situation "totally unacceptable."[177] He ordered that a report be delivered before January 1 detailing how some government agencies had failed to share or highlight potentially relevant information about the suspect before he allegedly tried to blow up the airliner.[178] Two days later Obama received the briefing he had ordered. Among the documents were statements that information about the suspect had failed to cross agency lines, and that the failures to communicate within the US government had led to the threat posed by Abdulmutallab not being known by certain agencies until the attack. Obama said he would study the documents for three days, and will meet with security chiefs. Specifically, he has asked why Abdulmutallab was not placed on the US no-fly list, despite the government having received warnings about his potential al-Qaeda links.[179]

See also

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External links

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