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Christmas AQ airliner bomber @ Detroit foiled....

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  • Christmas AQ airliner bomber @ Detroit foiled....

    Whew.....a close one. Our lucky streak damned near ended.

    Foiled by the device partially failing to ignite and (according to local reports) another passenger kicking the snot out of the guy as he tried to re-light it.

    I suggest that we all raise a brewski in the young lads honor


    Detroit Free Press link....


    Passengers thwart attack

    Travelers reconstruct bits of frightening Christmas flight


    Most of the passengers on Northwest Airlines Flight 253 seated near seat 19A seemed to hear it. A single, loud pop -- like a firecracker -- 10 minutes before the flight landed.

    "I heard the pop and then the next thing you know fire ...people running out of their seats," said Syed Jafry of Holland, Ohio, was one of the first passengers off the plane, seated a few rows in front of the suspect.

    "It was a fire, it wasn't just a firecracker, it was a fire," Calvin Kakar, of New York, said. He was seated a few rows in front of the man, a Nigerian national, now in federal custody after trying to set off some sort of explosive device. "We heard a pop and the next thing you know it was a fire."

    >
    Iliana Schilke of Livonia said she saw a man, who was apparently burned in the process, jump over his seat to get to the suspect.

    "Smoke, flames, yelling and screaming," is the way Schilke, seated a couple rows behind the suspect, described the scene. Passengers yelled for water, flight attendants ran to get the fire extinguisher and the fire was soon doused.

    . "It was scary when it happened," she said.

    Jasmin Samimi, of Findlay, Ohio, said she saw the suspect taken in a chokehold by a passenger to the front of the plane.
    USA Today link....

    Nigerian banker says son may be jet terrorist

    ROMULUS, Mich. (AP) — An attempted terrorist attack on a Christmas Day flight began with a pop and a puff of smoke — sending passengers scrambling to subdue a Nigerian man who claimed to be acting on orders from al-Qaeda to blow up the airliner, officials and travelers said.

    On Saturday, a prominent Nigerian banker said he is meeting with authorities because he fears his son may have been the man who allegedly tried to bomb the flight.
    >
    The commotion began as Northwest Airlines Flight 253, carrying 278 passengers and 11 crewmembers from Amsterdam, prepared to land in Detroit just before noon Friday.

    "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."

    Smith said one passenger climbed over other people, went across the aisle and tried to restrain the man, who officials say was trying to ignite an explosive device. The heroic passenger appeared to have been burned.


    Afterward, the suspect was taken to a front-row seat with his pants cut off and his legs burned. Multiple law enforcement officials also said the man appeared badly burned on his legs, indicating the explosive was strapped there. The components were apparently mixed in-flight and included a powdery substance, multiple law enforcement and counterterrorism officials said.
    >
    Detroit News link....

    Suspected al-Qaida attack fails on flight to Detroit

    U.S. says Nigerian tried to detonate explosive device during landing

    David Shepardson and Catherine Jun / The Detroit News

    Washington -- Federal intelligence officials say a Delta Airlines passenger from Nigeria claimed he was acting on behalf of al-Qaida when he tried but failed to blow up a flight Friday as it landed at Detroit Metropolitan Airport.

    "We believe this was an attempted act of terrorism," a White House official told The Detroit News on condition of anonymity.

    A 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 in custody and being questioned by federal officials Friday evening.

    >
    Last edited by Dr Mordrid; 26 December 2009, 10:40.
    Dr. Mordrid
    ----------------------------
    An elephant is a mouse built to government specifications.

    I carry a gun because I can't throw a rock 1,250 fps

  • #2
    All flights to and from the US have US Marshalls onboard or something?

    I suspect the hero was a plain clothes dude who did his job perfectly.
    Or some other way involved in Law enforcement.

    Props to him anyway.

    Now it will be even worse in Airport security.
    Looks like it will be better getting a train or a boat now....3 hrs quicker either side...
    PC-1 Fractal Design Arc Mini R2, 3800X, Asus B450M-PRO mATX, 2x8GB B-die@3800C16, AMD Vega64, Seasonic 850W Gold, Black Ice Nemesis/Laing DDC/EKWB 240 Loop (VRM>CPU>GPU), Noctua Fans.
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    • #3
      That depends on whether security people do or avoid profiling. Profiling is considered racist by many people, but then again, so could statistics.
      If you search people of certain backgrounds more and other people of other backgrounds at random, things will move pretty quickly.
      If, on the other hand, you search EVERYONE (like they do in Spain), well, enjoy...
      "For every action, there is an equal and opposite criticism."

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by Evildead666 View Post
        All flights to and from the US have US Marshalls onboard or something?

        I suspect the hero was a plain clothes dude who did his job perfectly.
        Or some other way involved in Law enforcement....


        The hero was Jasper Schuringa, a Dutch film director working out of Amsterdam who suffered burns to his hands and was taken to the University of Michigan Medical Center's burn unit, one of the nations best. A brave soul was he to continue taking action after being burned. The terrorist was also taken to the U of M burn center.

        "When I saw the suspect, that he was getting on fire, I freaked, of course, and without any hesitation I just jumped over all the seats," Schuringa said. "And I jumped to the suspect. I was thinking like, he's trying to blow up the plane. I was trying to search his body for any explosives. I took some kind of object that was already melting and smoking out of him."
        Seems an AQ bomb maker in Yemen sewed the PETN based device into the guys pants before he embarked for the US. PETN is one of the most powerful conventional explosives. His seat purchase was perfect: a window seat right at the bulkhead/wing junction and over the fuel tank, right where an explosion would cause the plane to break up.

        Cool that besides Americans no one seems to drive jihadists crazier than the Dutch

        One thing's for sure: we have to keep our guard up because these guys are going to keep on coming, no matter how much some in our society think being nice or trying to negotiate with them will do any good. It won't. We also can't depend on every bomber not getting the mix right.
        Last edited by Dr Mordrid; 26 December 2009, 17:17.
        Dr. Mordrid
        ----------------------------
        An elephant is a mouse built to government specifications.

        I carry a gun because I can't throw a rock 1,250 fps

        Comment


        • #5
          Terrorists 1 , Travelers 0. I see that there is now another hour of delay for travelers departing to the US today (That makes it 5 hours before departure time on a 12.5 hour trip) after President OB decreed that security measures around the world need to be increased. I see on tonite news that the airport, Amsterdam that he departed from has some of the slacked security around. Apparently not every one is screened getting on the planes..
          paulw

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          • #6
            Originally posted by paulw View Post
            Terrorists 1 , Travelers 0.
            How so?
            The travellers defeated the terrorists this round.
            Nobody died. Plane did not crash.
            It hightened the alert status (big whoop), but the scum sucking terrorists in no way got what they were after. Zero casualties, safe landing.

            Travelers 1, scum sucking terrorists 0.
            Core2 Duo E7500 2.93, Asus P5Q Pro Turbo, 4gig 1066 DDR2, 1gig Asus ENGTS250, SB X-Fi Gamer ,WD Caviar Black 1tb, Plextor PX-880SA, Dual Samsung 2494s

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            • #7
              Yes but. If you start giving monetary value to those added pre-flight hours, you'll see that those terrorists just cost world economy a few hundred milions.
              "For every action, there is an equal and opposite criticism."

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              • #8
                Indeed.

                Wrt Amsterdam Schipho Airport Security, everyone gets screened but I am sure there are ways that give you at least 20% prob. of excaping that. I do not know how many get caught by security screening.

                I speculate he transferred from another flight onto this one. Not sure how security screenings work then.

                At least, that's been my impression the times I flew, last in 2008.
                Join MURCs Distributed Computing effort for Rosetta@Home and help fight Alzheimers, Cancer, Mad Cow disease and rising oil prices.
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                • #9
                  More than a few hundred million.

                  think of all the people who are not gonna fly now ?
                  The Airlines were already in dire straits, this won't work.

                  And the extra hour of searching, added to the already existant hours of waiting...?

                  The "terrorist" did his job. He will have terrorized people into changing how they move about, or if they go on holiday or not etc....

                  Oh, and it seems to have re-awakened the "Hate" towards them also.

                  Maybe in that view the WMD's DID exist in Iraq, we just didn't find them, and no we're not fighting for the Oil fields, really.
                  Maybe we should just eliminate them all ? Anyone of them COULD be a terrorist, so wipe them all out, pre-emptively, just in case.

                  The only people winning these wars, are the one supplying the weapons. and Ammo.

                  p.s. This Guy being from Nigeria, where corruption has prevailed for years, whilst the oil has kept flowing, and western oil companies make the profits. The extra money for the Nigerian people is embezzeled by the people kept in power, by the people whose best interest it is to keep them there.

                  p.p.s The Dutch Guy IS a hero, no doubts about that. Hope he gets a medal for his quick thinking and bravery.
                  PC-1 Fractal Design Arc Mini R2, 3800X, Asus B450M-PRO mATX, 2x8GB B-die@3800C16, AMD Vega64, Seasonic 850W Gold, Black Ice Nemesis/Laing DDC/EKWB 240 Loop (VRM>CPU>GPU), Noctua Fans.
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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Kruzin View Post
                    How so?
                    The travellers defeated the terrorists this round.
                    Nobody died. Plane did not crash.
                    It hightened the alert status (big whoop), but the scum sucking terrorists in no way got what they were after. Zero casualties, safe landing.

                    Travelers 1, scum sucking terrorists 0.
                    Because of the TSA's knee jerk reaction. Now all inbound flites to the US. No one is allowed out of their seat 1 hour before landing, NO one is allow to access any form of carry on luggage either overhead or down beside them 1 hour before landing. Sure no one got killed but air travel to the US became more of a hassle and as others have said less people will fly..

                    Terrorists 1 , travelers 0
                    paulw

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by paulw View Post
                      Because of the TSA's knee jerk reaction. Now all inbound flites to the US. No one is allowed out of their seat 1 hour before landing, NO one is allow to access any form of carry on luggage either overhead or down beside them 1 hour before landing. Sure no one got killed but air travel to the US became more of a hassle and as others have said less people will fly..

                      Terrorists 1 , travelers 0
                      This will be forgotten about in a few weeks.
                      Hell, 8/10 ppl I talked to about it didn't even know it happened.
                      So security is tightened a bit. So what.
                      Not gonna deter travel in the least bit.
                      FAIL terrorists.
                      FTW travelers.
                      Core2 Duo E7500 2.93, Asus P5Q Pro Turbo, 4gig 1066 DDR2, 1gig Asus ENGTS250, SB X-Fi Gamer ,WD Caviar Black 1tb, Plextor PX-880SA, Dual Samsung 2494s

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                      • #12
                        They'll know about it if they try and take an international flight.

                        And all those lovely tourists who were heading to the US to spend their hard earned Euros or whatever, will now be making decisions....
                        PC-1 Fractal Design Arc Mini R2, 3800X, Asus B450M-PRO mATX, 2x8GB B-die@3800C16, AMD Vega64, Seasonic 850W Gold, Black Ice Nemesis/Laing DDC/EKWB 240 Loop (VRM>CPU>GPU), Noctua Fans.
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                        • #13
                          The local papers stated that the terrorist boarded in Nigeria and transferred at ASA, as I speculated above. I assume he should have been caught in Nigeria. The speculation is that he passed security easily there due to his father being an influential businessman and former cabinet minister.
                          Join MURCs Distributed Computing effort for Rosetta@Home and help fight Alzheimers, Cancer, Mad Cow disease and rising oil prices.
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                          • #14
                            Our security people also dropped the ball.

                            There are two watch lists the TSA keeps - one the "terror watch" list, a large list of those suspected of being radicalized and which this guy was on, and the "no-fly" list. Even though his father, a prominent Nigerian banker, had contacted the US embassy in Nigeria trying to turn him in he was not promoted to the latter list and the UK had put him on their visa denial list.

                            So now in the aftermath Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano is is full CYA mode trying to cover the administrations backside over why he wasn't. That kind of bull has to stop, now, if not sooner, and Napolitano needs to go away sooner than later. Just because she was a Dem governor of a border state doesn't mean she's qualified for that critical job so someone with real world security experience needs to replace her. She isn't qualified to be there, and nearly every day she proves why.

                            This case also provides all the more reason to get as many t-ray (submillimeter wavelength) scanners in airports, especially those sending passengers to the US since we're the "big target", as soon as possible. They can see beneath clothing (see image) and through other many other materials, including ceramics, wood, paper and masonry, without the risks associated with ionizing radiations like x-rays.

                            Swallowed or surgically implanted bombs? Tougher. Might have to resort to "flash" x-ray scans for those meeting certain profiles. Yes, PROFILES. We need to get over those being a dirty word. These would be a very short low intensity and highly filtered burst, just enough to penetrate the body and show outlines. You'd get far more absorbed dose during the flight from cosmic rays than the flash would deliver. Production technologies already exist for producing microsecond bursts.

                            These technologies already exist.

                            T-ray scan


                            Burst x-ray scan

                            Last edited by Dr Mordrid; 28 December 2009, 13:43.
                            Dr. Mordrid
                            ----------------------------
                            An elephant is a mouse built to government specifications.

                            I carry a gun because I can't throw a rock 1,250 fps

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                            • #15
                              Update:

                              WTMJ in Milwaukee is reporting that a passenger videotaped the whole event and that the FBI is looking for him.

                              I bet

                              Link....

                              >
                              "I honestly don't think I've had a chance to let it sink in, because having these children with us, we've just got to keep them grounded, and I'm just really focusing on the kids," said Patricia, who lives in Oconomowoc, on 620WTMJ's "Wisconsin's Morning News."

                              They were sitting about 20 rows behind Abdulmutallab, in a center aisle with her husband and daughter a row ahead of her and their two new adopted children, a six-year-old girl and an eight-year-old boy.

                              Her daughter said that ahead of them was a man who videotaped the entire flight, including the attempted detonation.

                              "He sat up and videotaped the entire thing, very calmly," said Patricia. "We do know that the FBI is looking for him intensely. Since then, we've heard nothing about it."

                              "We heard what sounded like an electrical pop to me. Everybody looked above their seats, kind of like startled, panicked. Shortly thereafter, we heard the screams. We could not see what was going on. We were too far back. We heard shouting, and you could hear the mayhem happening.
                              >
                              Dr. Mordrid
                              ----------------------------
                              An elephant is a mouse built to government specifications.

                              I carry a gun because I can't throw a rock 1,250 fps

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