**BREAKING NEWS** (Failed) terrorsit attack @ US airport.

[proper english]

WASHINGTON - A Northwest Airlines passenger from Nigeria, who said he was acting on al-Qaida's instructions, tried to blow up the plane Friday as it was landing in Detroit, law enforcement and national security officials said.
Passengers subdued the man and may have prevented him from detonating the explosives, the officials said.

"We believe this was an attempted act of terrorism," a White Houseofficial said.

Federal officials imposed stricter screening measures after the incident.

Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., ranking GOP member of the House Homeland Security Committee, identified the suspect as Abdul Mudallad, a Nigerian. King said the flight began in Nigeria and went through Amsterdam en route to Detroit. There were 278 passengers aboard the Airbus 330.

There was nothing out of the ordinary until the flight 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 in an e-mail message. The plane landed at 11:51 a.m. EST.

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. 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.

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

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 are being taken without raising the airline threat level.

The official declined to describe what additional measures law enforcement was taking.

The White House was coordinating briefings for the president through the Homeland Security Department, theTransportation 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 said he saw a glow, and noticed a smoke smell. Then, he said, "a young man behind me jumped on him."

"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. "It's frustrating if you don't want to keep your country safe," he said. "We can't have what's going on everywhere else happening here."

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

J.P. Karas, 55, of Wyandotte, Mich., said he was driving down a road near the airport and saw a Delta jet at the end of the runway, surrounded by police cars, an ambulance, a bus and some TV trucks.

"I don't ever recall seeing a plane on that runway ever before and I pass by there frequently," he said.

Karas said it was difficult to tell what was going on, but it looked like the front wheel was off the runway.

"We encourage those with future travel plans to stay in touch with their airline and to visit http://www.tsa.govfor updates," Homeland Security Department said in a statement.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has been briefed on the incident and is closely monitoring the situation.

The department encouraged travelers to be observant and aware of their surroundings and report any suspicious behavior to law enforcement officials.

 

[pr0phecy718]

uhh what (didn't) happened?

 

[tfromthe617]

info?

 

[rsdplaya]

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TRAVEL/12/25/airliner.firecrackers/index.html

(CNN) -- A passenger on a flight Friday from Amsterdam, Netherlands, to Detroit, Michigan, ignited a small explosive device shortly before landing and theWhite House is considering the incident an attempted terrorist attack, a senior administration official said.

The Northwest passenger, identified as a Nigerian national "claiming to have extremist affiliation," was placed in custody and is being treated forburns suffered in the explosion, according to a federal government bulletin obtained by CNN from a source familiar with the investigation.

The explosive device "was acquired in Yemen along with instructions as to when it should be used," the bulletin said.

The FBI is investigating, bureau spokeswoman Sandra Berchtold said.

President Obama, who is spending the holidays in his home state of Hawaii, was briefed on the incident during a secure phone call with aides and instructed ina subsequent discussion with security advisers "that all appropriate measures be taken to increase security for air travel," White House spokesmanBill Burton said. The president made no changes to his schedule, Burton said.

The Department of Homeland Security issued a statement Friday saying that air passengers "may notice additional screening measures put into place toensure the safety of the traveling public on domestic and international flights."

Passengers described brief moments of panic on board, as screams erupted and flight attendants ran for fire extinguishers. One woman told CNN affiliate WDIVthat a man threw a blanket over the suspect's legs to help put out the small fire.

"It was terrifying," Richelle Keepman said. "I think we all thought we weren't going to land, we weren't going to make it."

Passenger Elias Fawaz told WDIV that the explosion sounded "like a balloon being popped" and said he could smell smoke.

One person was taken to the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor, hospital spokeswoman Tracy Justice said.

"All passengers have deplaned and out of an abundance of caution, the plane was moved to a remote area where the plane and all baggage are currently beingrescreened," the Transportation Security Administration said in a statement.

The Northwest plane, an Airbus 330, landed shortly before noon ET. It was carrying 278 passengers.

 

[njstress03]

this seems like a failed news thread......

 

[cz7]

edited by Jesus Christ?

 

[domc03]

first the nigerian check scam and now this dude
somebody needs to sticky "MAKING A THREAD 101"

 

[htwn hitman]

 

[josebronx]

I give up on planes

 

[cidman911]

I hope they beat the crap outta him while they were on the plane...

 

[proper english]

as if airport security wasn't tight enough.. how do you think HS is going to handle this?

 

[milestailsprowe]

Torture or whateva as long as you grab all the info out of them possible

 

[mytmouse76]

Originally Posted by CIDMAN911

I hope they beat the crap outta him while they were on the plane...

word...

 

[daytona 5000]

 

[proper english]

Originally Posted by milestailsprowe

Torture or whateva as long as you grab all the info out of them possible

really now?

 

[18key]

Jesus aint letting no one ruin his birthday

 

[across 110th st]

this had me thinking of "No Russian"

 

[josebronx]

^ but Jesus wasnt born Dec. 25

 

[nako xl]

and now every other traveling nigerian in the country suffers the repercussions

 

[oh you mad]

Originally Posted by 18key

Jesus aint letting no one ruin his birthday

 

[ag 47]

Wow, son of a _. Kudos to those passengers laying hands on him like that. It would have been scary to see our reaction to another terrorist attack.

 

[proper english]

Originally Posted by AG 47

Wow, son of a _. Kudos to those passengers laying hands on him like that. It would have been scary to see our reaction to another terrorist attack.

word. A passenger was talking about how some dude literally jumped over a row of seats to put out the fire.