Feral Jundi

Federal authorities have been told that Abdulmutallab allegedly had taped some material to his leg, then used a syringe to mix chemicals with the powder while on the airplane, one official said.

But doing so “caused him to catch on fire,” Richelle Keepman, who sat a few rows in front of Abdulmutallab, told WDIV-TV.

Another passenger on Flight 253, Syed Jafry of Holland, Mich., told the Detroit Free Press that he noticed a glow three rows ahead in the Airbus 330, then smelled smoke. The next moment, Jafri recounted, “a young man behind me jumped on” Abdulmutallab. 

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    Now that is what I am talking about!  This booger eater not only fails to do what he set out to do, but a passenger on the plane actually reacted to the guy and jumped on him.  That’s like the equivalent of jumping on a hand grenade, and this hero needs to be recognized.

   This falls in line with the ‘hero in waiting’ stuff that Philip Zimbardo introduced and I keep talking about here.  It’s not going to be a cop, or a soldier, or whatever that is going to protect people all the time and in every situation.  Most of the time, it’s going to be a civilian with the courage and conviction to do what has to be done, and during those mad minutes.  We should be celebrating heroes that stepped up to stop these animals and make them examples as to the kinds of citizens the world needs in order to stop Al Qaeda and any other criminals or murderers.

   Another way to look at this is the one thing that can stop a super empowered individual, whom has the intent to do bad things, is another super empowered individual intent on doing good things. We need heroes in waiting, and this attack is a prime example of why. So start watching those Surviving Disaster shows and get the word out! –Matt

Edit: Cannoneer #4 just posted a similar deal in praise of the passengers that took this guy down.

Edit#2: 12/27/2009 Jasper Schuringa was the hero.  Here is his Facebook page, and I guess he is a director and into film stuff.

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Nigerian arrested in failed plane attack claims links to al-Qaeda

By Michael Leahy and Spencer S. HsuSaturday, December 26, 2009; 12:16 AM

A Nigerian man, claiming to be linked to al-Qaeda, allegedly tried to set off an incendiary device aboard a transatlantic airplane Friday as it descended toward Detroit’s airport in what the White House called an attempted act of terrorism.

The man was quickly subdued after another passenger leapt on top of him, others on the plane said, and Northwest Airlines Flight 253 from Amsterdam landed safely around 1 p.m. Friday. The suspect was being treated at a hospital for burns he suffered while igniting the device, the Transportation Security Administration said.

The FBI is investigating the incident. President Obama, celebrating Christmas in Hawaii, was informed about it, a spokesman said, and he asked aides to ensure that all measures are in place to provide secure air travel.

Officials said they are not prepared to raise the terrorism alert level, currently at orange — or the second-highest of five levels — for domestic and international air travel. However, the Homeland Security Department said late Friday that passengers “may notice additional screening measures, put into place to ensure the safety of the traveling public on domestic and international flights.”

The suspect is Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab, a federal official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing. ABC News and NBC News reported that Abdulmutallab, 23, attends University College London, where he studies engineering.

Although not on the TSA’s “no-fly” list, Abdulmutallab’s name appears to be included in the government’s records of terrorism suspects, according to a preliminary review, authorities said.

Abdulmutallab has told federal investigators that he had ties to al-Qaeda and traveled to Yemen to collect the incendiary device and instructions on how to use it, according to a federal counterterrorism official briefed on the case. Authorities have yet to verify the claim, and they expect to conduct several more interviews before they determine whether he is credible, the official said.

Federal authorities have been told that Abdulmutallab allegedly had taped some material to his leg, then used a syringe to mix chemicals with the powder while on the airplane, one official said.

But doing so “caused him to catch on fire,” Richelle Keepman, who sat a few rows in front of Abdulmutallab, told WDIV-TV.

Another passenger on Flight 253, Syed Jafry of Holland, Mich., told the Detroit Free Press that he noticed a glow three rows ahead in the Airbus 330, then smelled smoke. The next moment, Jafri recounted, “a young man behind me jumped on” Abdulmutallab.

Jafry said there was a lengthy commotion, after which the passenger was restrained in a first-class seat as the plane continued its landing at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport.

Michigan native Melinda Dennis, who was sitting in across the aisle from Abdulmutallab, told the Free Press that he “was burned very severely on his leg” but remained “very calm and didn’t show any reaction to pain.”

At the airport, the wide-body jet was met by police cars, an ambulance and some trucks, according to a spectator, J.P. Karas, of Wyandotte, Mich. (The Northwest flight was aboard a Delta airplane; the two companies are in the process of merging.) There were 278 passengers and 11 crew members on board the plane.

Officials described the device as incendiary rather than explosive, pending tests by forensics experts at the FBI. Incendiary devices generally deliver less of an impact than explosive devices. The remains of the device used are being sent to an FBI explosives lab in Quantico for analysis, federal law enforcement and airline security sources told CNN.

For many national security analysts, the Christmas Day incident called to mind the bizarre case of Richard C. Reid, a British citizen who trained at an al-Qaeda camp in Afghanistan. Reid attempted to detonate explosives hidden in his shoes on a flight from Paris to Miami in December 2001.

Reid was arrested in Boston, subsequently pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

In August 2006, authorities in the United Kingdom disrupted a plot to blow up several transatlantic airliners using improvised liquid explosives. The discovery that al-Qaeda was developing new methods to bring down aircraft led to the banning of most liquids in carry-on baggage and prompted research into new detection technologies.

The Northwest incident also comes after a hectic six months in domestic terrorism cases, from the arrest of a Colorado shuttle bus driver, Najibullah Zazi, in an alleged plot to target New York with hydrogen-based chemical mixtures to smaller efforts by groups in Minnesota, Northern Virginia and North Carolina to allegedly translate radical beliefs into action on foreign soil.

Obama was alerted to Friday’s incident between 9 and 9:30 a.m. in Hawaii, which is five hours behind the East Coast. After being informed by his military aide, the president convened a secure conference call with John O. Brennan, his counterterrorism adviser, and Denis McDonough, chief of staff at the National Security Council. He later received updates from each man, senior officials said.

Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.) announced late Friday night that the Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee, which he chairs, would “hold hearings in January to look in to this incident and related security matters.”

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), the ranking member on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said the incident was “a disturbing reminder that the terrorist threat is still very real and that we must continue to be vigilant and alert.”

Story here.