FlightAware Flight Tracker Northwest flight NWA253 Amsterdam to Detroit.
Somewhere near the end of the flight, a passenger decided to light off firecrackers?? He was subdued, and arrested?
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TRAVEL/12/25/airliner.firecrackers/index.html
(CNN) – A passenger on a Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam, Netherlands, to Detroit, Michigan, caused a brief disturbance Friday at the end of the trip by igniting firecrackers, a Delta Air Lines spokeswoman said.
The passenger was immediately subdued, according to Susan Elliott, spokeswoman for Delta, Northwest’s parent company.
The incident resulted in some minor injuries, Elliott said.
The FBI is investigating, bureau spokeswoman Sandra Berchtold said.
The Northwest plane, an Airbus 330, landed around noon ET. It was carrying 278 passengers.
The Transportation Security Administration had no immediate comment.
The flight in question: http://flightaware.com/live/flight/NWA253
Just reading the news release, said the pilot declared an emergency due to a smoke indicator alarm going off.
MSNBC saying he was trying to blow up the aircraft over US territory. N820NW is the regisitration number.
Doug
Just heard on the news that it was not firecrackers… He tried to blow up the plane, but his home made bomb was not big enough… They say he was related to Al-Qaeda.
Good job to the passenger that jumped on him and subdued him the remainder of the flight. Good to know that citizens aren’t going to tolerate this garbage anymore and will act in haste. Glad to hear all is well and this didn’t end in disaster.
Was not a grandma.
Madness. Unbelievable…but reality. When will this insanity end?
abcnews.go.com/Blotter/northwest … id=9426085
The plot to blow up an American passenger jet over Detroit was organized and launched by al Qaeda leaders in **Yemen **who apparently sewed bomb materials into the suspect’s underwear before sending him on his mission, federal authorities tell ABC News.
Investigators say the suspect had more than 80 grams of PETN, a compound related to nitro-glycerin used by the military. The so-called shoe bomber, Richard Reid, had only about 50 grams kin his failed attempt in 2001 to blow up a U.S.-bound jet. Yesterday’s bomb failed because the detonator may have been too small or was not in “proper contact” with the explosive material, investigators told ABC News.
Investigators say the suspect, Abdul Farouk Umar Abdulmutallab, a 23-year-old Nigerian student whose birthday was last Tuesday, has provided detailed information about his recruitment and training for what was supposed to be a Christmas Day suicide attack.
Apparently a second (Lufthansa) flight on it’s way to Detroit from Frankfurt was diverted to Reykjavik, Iceland today. There was an extra piece of luggage onboard without a ‘matching’ passenger.
The diversion does not show on FA:
I agree that we do not need more security especially on domestic flights and intl flights leaving the U.S. The one-hour sterile cabin does nothing to prevent a terrorist attack unless you’re flying a LAX-LAS. DTW-FNT, or a NYC-BOS. What’s gonna prevent me from setting off a bomb once the plane reaches cruising altitude? I do believe that every U.S. bound plane should have extra screening similar to but not to the extent of El Al. An El Al aircraft has not been part of a terrorist act since 1970 though there have been two attacks on ticket counters. But there is a thing known as too much security.
Stay on topic.
In 2001, some guy tried to blow up a plane with a bomb in his shoe. The reaction: passengers have to take shoes off at security checkpoints.
In 2009, some guy tried to blow up a plane with a bomb in his pants. Logically, in order to keep us safe, the TSA should require passengers to take their pants off at the security checkpoint.
Alternatively, they could say we can only carry on pants which are in 3.4 oz size containers or smaller, and fit in a 1 quart, clear plastic zip-top bag.
When will they stop trying to just make us think we are safe and start doing things to actually make us safer?
A view from Ann Coulter. For full article see Ivana Trump Escorted Off Plane: Napolitano Declares ‘The System Worked’
In response to a Nigerian Muslim trying to blow up a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day, the government will now prohibit international travelers from going to the bathroom in the last hour before the plane lands.
Terrorists who plan to bomb planes during the first seven hours of the eight-hour flight, however, should face no difficulties, provided they wait until after the complimentary beverage service has been concluded.
How do they know Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab didn’t wait until the end of the flight to try to detonate explosives because he heard the stewardess announce that the food service was over and seats would have to be placed in their upright position? I can’t finish my snack? This plane is going down!
Also prohibited in the last hour of international flights will be: blankets, pillows, computers and in-flight entertainment. Another triumph in Janet Napolitano’s “Let’s stay one step behind the terrorists” policy!