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Northwest Airlines Flight 253: Difference between revisions

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About 20 minutes before the plane landed, he secretly ignited a small [[explosive device]] consisting of a mix of flammable powder<ref name="NYT-20091226-2">{{cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/27/us/27plane.html|title=Passengers Took Plane's Survival Into Own Hands|date=December 26, 2009 |last1=Shane |first1=Scott |last2=Lipton|first2=Eric |publisher=The New York Times Company |accessdate=December 26, 2009}}</ref><ref>New York Times December 26, 2009 "Governments React After Terror Attempt on Airplane"</ref> and liquid.<ref name=complaint/><ref name="AP"/><ref name="ABC"/><ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8430699.stm "US plane attack suspect quizzed after 'terror attempt'"]. ''BBC News'', December 26, 2009</ref> He apparently had taped a packet of powder to his leg or groin, and used a [[syringe]] containing chemicals to cause a [[chemical reaction]]; though there appears to have been an explosion, and the lower part of his body caught on fire, the device failed to [[detonate]] properly.<ref name=complaint/><ref name="WWJ"/><ref name="ABC"/> Passengers heard popping noises resembling [[firecracker]]s, smelled an odor, and saw the suspect's trouser leg and the wall of the plane on fire.<ref name=complaint/> A passenger said: "there was smoke and screaming and flames. It was scary."<ref>[http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/how_al_qaeda_airline_fiend_used_wfuNdDKEWp5ljA7t6cfxcK "How al-Qaeda airline fiend used leg bomb and syringe", ''The New York Post'', December 26, 2009, accessed December 25, 2009]</ref>
 
The substance he tried to detonate was reportedly more than {{g to oz|80}} of [[pentaerythritol tetranitrate]] (PETN), a powerful [[plastic explosive]].<ref>[http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/yb/139330293 ItStobart, isJanet inStobart, theand sameSemuels, chemicalAlama, family"Nigerian asman, [[nitroglycerin]]23, charged with attempting to destroy plane", American Chronicle, December 28, 2009, accessed December 28, 2009]</ref> It is among the most powerful of explosives, in the same chemical family as [[nitroglycerin]], and is the same explosive that [[al-Qaeda]] member [[Richard C. Reid]] (the Shoe Bomber) tried to detonate {{g to oz|50}} of in his shoes during an American Airlines flight in December 2001.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/28/us/28explosives.html Chang, Kenneth, "Explosive on Flight 253 Is Among Most Powerful", ''The New York Times'', December 27, 2009, accessed December 28, 2009]</ref> The suspect apparently carried it onto the plane in a soft plastic container, possibly a [[condom]]. However, much of the packaging was lost in the fire.<ref name="CBS-20091226">{{cite web|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/12/26/national/main6024409.shtml |title=Official: Explosive PETN Used in Attack |date=December 26, 2009 |publisher=CBS Interactive Inc |accessdate=December 26, 2009}}</ref> The substance was analyzed at [[FBI Academy|Quantico]] by the FBI.<ref name="NPR">{{cite web|url=http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121927036&ps=cprs|title=Terrorism Links Uncertain In Airplane Attack|date=December 26, 2009|last=Temple-Raston |first=Dina |publisher=NPR |accessdate=December 26, 2009}}</ref> An FBI [[affidavit]] filed in the Eastern District of Michigan<ref name="Washington Post"/><ref name=complaint/> indicated that preliminary findings reflected that the device contained PETN,<ref name="KATU">{{cite web|url=http://www.katu.com/news/national/80140857.html |title=Christmas Day terrorism suspect is charged |date=December 26, 2009 |last=Barrett |first=Devlin |publisher=The Associated Press |accessdate=December 26, 2009}}</ref> and that authorities found the remains of the syringe.<ref name="Washington Post"/><ref name=complaint/> US Representative [[Peter T. King]] said that the device was deadly, and somewhat sophisticated.<ref name="WSJ">{{cite web|url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126178658938805419.html|title=Suspect Identified as Nigerian Man|date=December 25, 2009|last=Simpson|first=Cam|publisher=[[Dow Jones & Company, Inc.]]|accessdate=December 25, 2009}}</ref><ref name=NYT-20091225 /> The explosives were reportedly sewn into the suspect's underwear. They failed to cause much damage because the detonator was either too weak or did not make good [[contact]] with the explosive material.<ref name="BBC-20091226"/>
 
There were not any [[air marshal]]s on the flight.<ref>[http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20091226/NEWS03/912269981/1031/BIZ Lowy, Joan, "Airlines tighten restrictions for passengers", ''Fort Wayne Journal Gazette'', December 26, 2009, accessed December 28, 2009]</ref> Several passengers and crew members noticed the attack, and saw one passenger run forward and tackle and overpower the suspect, keeping him down in a hold until after the plane landed<ref>[http://www.volkskrant.nl/binnenland/article1331624.ece/Heldenrol_voor_Nederlander_bij_aanslagpoging "Heldenrol voor Nederlander bij aanslagpoging"]</ref><ref name="NY Daily News" /> while flight attendants extinguished the fire with a fire extinguisher and blankets.<ref name="complaint"/><ref name=Wheaton /><!-- this ref does not quite state who did what<ref name="Beijing"/>--><ref name="MSNBC">{{cite web |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34592031/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts |title=Officials: Possible terror attack on Northwest jet |date=December 25, 2009|last1=Windrem |first1=Robert |last2=Johnson |first2=Alex |publisher=msnbc.com |accessdate=December 25, 2009}}</ref><ref name="MSNBC-20091226-1">{{cite web|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34592031/ns/us_news-security/ |title=U.S. knew of suspect, but how much? |date=December 26, 2009 |publisher=msnbc.com |accessdate=December 26, 2009}}</ref> That passenger, Jasper Schuringa, a Dutch director of a media company based in Amsterdam, suffered burns to his hands while stopping the suspect. He was later taken to the [[University of Michigan Health System|University of Michigan Medical Center]].<ref name="NY Daily News"/> The suspect, having been immediately subdued, was isolated from other passengers and restrained.<ref name="complaint"/><ref name="ABC"/><ref name="Nine">{{cite web|url=http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=987938 |title=Plane terror suspect 'set pants on fire |date=December 25, 2009 |publisher=ninemsn Pty Ltd |accessdate=December 25, 2009}}</ref> A passenger removed a partially smoking syringe from the suspect's hand. A passenger reported that the suspect, though burned "quite severely" on his leg, seemed "very calm" and like a "normal individual."<ref name="Wheaton">{{cite news|author=Wheaton, Sarah |title=From a 'Pop' to a Headlock, Passengers Recall Flight 253 |url=http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/26/from-pop-to-headlock-passengers-recall-flight-253/|date=December 26, 2009 |publisher=''The New York Times'' |accessdate=December 25, 2009}}</ref> A flight attendant asked the suspect what he had in his pocket, and the suspect replied: "explosive device".<ref name="complaint"/>
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