December 26, 2009
By Joe Swickard and Naomi R. Patton
Detroit Free Press

A terror suspect who claimed to have al-Qaida connections could face charges as soon as today for attempting to blow up a Delta-Northwest flight as it was landing at Detroit Metro Airport on Friday, law enforcement officials said.

Officials identified the suspect as Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab, 23, a Nigerian national. It was unclear Friday why he allegedly wanted to attack the flight, arriving from Amsterdam. Passengers subdued him as he allegedly tried to detonate an explosive device that failed.

Graphic: Interior of the Northwest Airbus A330 and its flight path from Nigeria. (AP)

Many questions may be answered if charges are brought, one official said. The official added it's possible that Mutallab, who was burned by flames from the device as passengers tackled him, could be arraigned in a hospital setting, depending on the extent of his injuries.

U.S. Rep. Peter King, a New York Republican and ranking GOP member of the House Homeland Security Committee, said the flight began in Nigeria and went through Amsterdam en route to Detroit with 278 passengers aboard.

The Airbus 330 landed at Detroit Metro about noon. There were no major passenger injuries.

Many on board were unaware of what had occurred at the front of the plane -- learning about the episode only after they had left the aircraft and were questioned by FBI agents.

Others had a bird's-eye view of the suspect as he was subdued while trying to light what some thought was a firecracker.

"It was terrifying," said Richelle Keepman of Oconomowoc, Wis., who sat just rows in front of the suspect.

She said she thought she was going to die when she saw the flames and commotion. "I thought this was it," she said.

Confirmed details were slow to emerge Friday about the Delta-Northwest airline passenger accused of setting off an explosive device on a plane as it was landing in Detroit, in what the White House called a failed terrorist attack.

The White House said it believed it was an attempted act of terrorism and stricter security measures were quickly imposed on airline travel, but were not specified.

Law enforcement officials identified the suspect as Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab, 23, and a Nigerian national. The suspect reportedly told officials that he was acting on al-Qaida's instructions.

Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., ranking GOP member of the House Homeland Security Committee, said the flight began in Nigeria and went through Amsterdam en route to Detroit.

Image: A Delta-Northwest plane sits on the runway at Detroit Metro Airport on Friday after a Nigerian man allegedly tried to ignite explosives on board in what federal officials say was an attempted act of terrorism. (J.P. Karas /AP)

There was nothing out of the ordinary until Northwest Flight 253 was on final approach to Detroit, said Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory. That is when the pilot declared an emergency and landed shortly thereafter, Cory said in an e-mail message.

There were 278 passengers aboard the Airbus 330, and the flight was about 20 minutes from the airport when there was a sound like a firecracker exploded, witnesses said. One passenger jumped over others and tried to subdue the man. Shortly afterward, the suspect was taken to a front row seat with his pants cut off and his legs burned.

The suspect was being questioned Friday evening. An intelligence source said the suspect was being held and treated at an Ann Arbor hospital.

Some of the facts reported late Friday:

-- One U.S. intelligence official said the explosive device was a mix of powder and liquid and failed when the passenger tried to detonate it.

-- 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 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 a determination of a terrorist act would have to come from the attorney general.

-- The official added that additional security measures were being taken without raising the airline threat level.