Nigerian Man Charged With Trying To Blow Up Plane
WASHINGTON -The Obama administration is moving forward on two fronts in response to the failed bombing on a Detroit-bound airliner.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs says investigators are looking at the system for placing potential terrorists on travel security lists to see if procedures were properly followed and what can be done to make them more effective.
The administration is also investigating aviation detection systems to see how the alleged attacker managed to get on board the Northwest flight in Amsterdam with explosive materials.
No other flights were known to have been targeted. However, Gibbs says federal authorities took precautionary steps “to assume and plan for the very worst.”
Attorney General Eric Holder says if the plot had been successful, “scores of innocent people would have been killed or injured.”
He released a statement as the Justice Department charged a Nigerian man with trying to blow up a Northwest Airlines flight on Christmas Day as it was preparing to land in Detroit.
Holder says, “We will continue to investigate this matter vigorously.” And he says “all measures available to our government” will be used to make sure that anyone involved is brought to justice.
According to an affidavit filed in federal court in Detroit, a preliminary analysis of the explosive device showed that it contained an explosive known as PETN. The government says when the man set it off, it sparked a fire instead of an explosion.
The affidavit says Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab told passengers that his stomach was upset, and then pulled a blanket over himself.
Passengers then heard what sounded like fireworks, and smelled smoke, before at least one passenger climbed over seats and tackled the man.
A U.S. official says Abdulmutallab claimed to have been told by al-Qaida to blow up the plane over U.S. soil.
Some airlines have been telling passengers today that they need to stay in their seats for the last hour of the flight.
People arriving from overseas say they’ve been given that instruction. Air Canada says the new rules from the Transportation Security Administration limit activities by passengers and crew in U.S. airspace. The airline says the passengers must remain seated during the final hour, and can’t have any items in their laps. They also can’t have access to carryon baggage.
And on domestic flights, flight attendants are informing passengers of similar rules.
It’s part of the response to yesterday’s apparent bombing attempt on a Northwest Airlines plane near Detroit.
According to a security official, the Transportation Security Administration issued a security directive for flights from overseas bound for the United States. The official says parents traveling internationally could see increased security screening at gates and when they check their bags, as well as stricter rules on board the planes.
Air Canada says it’s limiting passengers to one carryon bag in response to a request from the U.S. and Canadian governments.
