Northwest Airlines news stories on Newser

Detroit Bomber Bought Return Ticket

Rob Quinn — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 03:23:20 CST

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's intention may have been to gain a one-way ticket to paradise by blowing up a Northwest Airlines flight, but the terror suspect purchased a return ticket, congressional aides were told yesterday. It had been widely reported that Abdulmutallab had bought a one-way ticket, something experts said should...

Bomber Taunts: 'There Are More Like Me'

Rob Quinn — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 04:25:00 CST

The extremist accused of trying to blow up Northwest Airlines Flight 253 has told investigators he is only the first of many. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab boasted to the FBI that he trained for a month in Yemen before the bombing attempt and that al-Qaeda has trained others like him who...

Explosives Could've Blown Hole in Jet

Will McCahill — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 21:10:00 CST

The explosives Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab carried with him aboard Friday’s flight to Detroit were powerful enough to blow a hole in the side of the plane, sources tell the Washington Post . ABC News has obtained photos of the explosives, which were sewn into Abdulmutallab’s underwear. The package contained 80 grams...

Incident on Northwest Flight 'Nonserious': Feds

M. Morris — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 15:34:59 CST

After two security alerts in 3 days on the same Northwest flight from Amsterdam to Detroit, officials now say today's incident was "nonserious." The behavior of a passenger who spent an hour in the bathroom alarmed the crew, but he does not appear to be dangerous, reports CNN . Like the...

'Disruptive' Amsterdam-to- Detroit Passenger Arrested

M. Morris — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 14:20:10 CST

Police met a Northwest flight from Amsterdam to Detroit today after the crew reported a "verbally disruptive" passenger, CNN reports. The flight was on the same route that saw a Nigerian passenger set himself on fire in an attempted terrorist attack Friday. The unruly passenger on today's flight, who was...

Tighter Rules to Keep Passengers in Seats

Sat, 26 Dec 2009 15:19:22 CST

Some airlines were telling passengers today that security regulations in the wake of yesterday's attempted bombing prohibit them from leaving their seats an hour before landing. Air Canada, for example, said new rules imposed by the Transportation Security Administration limit on-board activities by passengers and crew in US airspace. The...

Suspect Charged With Trying to Blow Up Plane

John Johnson — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 14:58:41 CST

The Nigerian man in custody after yesterday's failed attempt to blow up a plane has been charged with trying to bring down the airliner. Federal authorities say Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab tried to use a highly explosive chemical known as PETN, reports CBS . He reportedly kept the substance near his groin...

Nigerian Banker Reported Son to US Embassy

John Johnson — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 11:40:49 CST

A prominent banker in Nigeria says the thwarted terrorist on the jet bound for Detroit is his son. The banker, who is meeting today with security officials, tells the Nigerian newspaper This Day that he reported his son, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, to the US Embassy 6 months ago when he...

Passenger 'Heard Pop, Saw Smoke and Fire'

Will McCahill — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 19:48:00 CST

A passenger sitting three rows behind the 23-year-old Nigerian man who allegedly tried to detonate an explosive aboard a Detroit-bound flight heard “a pop and saw some smoke and fire.” Then, Syed Jafry tells the Free Press , “a young man behind me jumped on him.” Jafry, a US citizen returning...