Possible UAL Shoe Bomber IAD-DEN

[Airbubba]

ABC News is reporting that a “suspected shoe bomber” was subdued by Air Marshals aboard United Airlines Flight 663, in route from Washington to Denver this evening.

Federal air marshals subdued the man who attempted to light his shoes on fire, according to ABC News. The report said, while the presence of explosives has not yet been confirmed, it was an attempted ’shoe bomb’ attack.

The plane landed safely in Denver and the plane was parked in a remote area of Denver International Airport. The other passengers were safely removed from the plane.

The suspect has been initially identified as Mohammed al Modadi, a diplomat in the Qatar embassy in Washington, D.C. al Modadi has full diplomatic immunity as the 3rd secretary and vice-consul.


http://www.indenvertimes.com/breaking-news-apparent-shoe-bomber-subdued-on-united-flight-to-denver/

[JohnnyRocket]

Ah, good old diplomatic immunity.

"Your diplomatic immunity...... has just been revoked!":D

[Aceninja]

NBC: Passenger subdued aboard United jet - Airliner security- msnbc.com (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36243847/ns/us_news-airliner_security/#storyContinued)

Don't know what the whole story is, but it looks like he was making a bad joke..
Although in light of the Christmas Day attempted bombing, if the idiot was indeed joking he needs to have his head examined....

[Dushan]

He probably went to the head to smoke and when found out tried to turn it into a (bad) joke, thinking that his diplomatic imunity would get him off. Fool.

[Airbubba]

FBI agents say no explosives were found in the shoes of a Qatar diplomat who was subdued by federal air marshals on a United flight to Denver Wednesday night after allegedly telling the marshals, "I'm lighting my shoes on fire."

...A US security official said, "it may have been a massive misunderstanding" and the diplomat's statement may have been a "sarcastic" comment when he was confronted by two air marshals who had been told by flight attendants that smoke was coming from the lavatory.

FBI: No Explosives Found on United Jet in Denver - ABC News (http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/air-marshals-stop-shoe-bomb-attempt-united-jet/story?id=10315314)

[Eboy]

I like how the suspect is admonished for breaking smoking regulations by officials who ask not to be identified because they are not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.

AP source: Man on flight possibly sneaking smoke - wtop.com (http://wtop.com/?nid=116&sid=1929254)

[Jetjock330]

This all over, in the BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8608611.stm) and CNN (http://edition.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/04/08/us.airliner.disturbance/index.html?hpt=T1) now. A bit dramatic, but better safe than sorry. On the other hand, if we had F16's accompany us every time someone was smoking, we would be escourted on almost every flight!


http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/47604000/gif/_47604478_us_denver_080410.gif
A Qatari diplomat has been detained after an incident on a flight from Washington's Reagan airport to Denver.
Two F-16 jets were scrambled to intercept the United Airlines plane and escort it to land safely at Denver airport, US officials said.
Initial reports said the man, who has not been named, had tried to set fire to his shoes.
But officials later said no explosives were found and he had apparently been trying to smoke in a plane toilet.
When confronted, the man "made a joke about it", which further alarmed people on board the flight, said an unnamed official quoted by the Associated Press news agency.
'Mistake'
The man was later identified as a Qatari diplomat stationed at the country's Washington embassy.
In a statement, Qatar's ambassador to the US, Ali Bin Fahad al-Hajri, said the diplomat "was certainly not engaged in any threatening activity", and "facts will reveal that this was all a mistake".
The plane, with more than 160 passengers and crew on board, arrived at Denver International Airport, where TV footage showed it surrounded by security vehicles.
The US Transportation Security Administration said it responded to "an incident on board United Airlines flight 663 [from Washington to Denver] after Federal Air Marshals responded to a passenger causing a disturbance on board the aircraft".
"Law enforcement and TSA responded to the scene and the passenger is currently being interviewed by law enforcement."
The incident came just months after a Nigerian man allegedly tried to detonate a bomb on a passenger jet arriving in the US.
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, was overpowered by passengers and crew shortly before the Northwest Airlines plane landed in Detroit from Amsterdam on 24 December. He has been charged with attempting to destroy a plane.
In 2001, Richard Reid, a British citizen, attempted to blow up a transatlantic passenger jet carrying 197 people with explosives hidden in his shoes.

[OBBI_Express]

A Qatari diplomat caught smoking in the toilets of a plane over the US made a joke about being a “shoe bomber” and sparked a security scare on Wednesday night.

The official, identified by the Associated Press (AP) as Mohammed Yaaqob Y M Al Madadi, was caught smoking in the toilets of a plane from Washington to Denver, and when questioned allegedly made a joke that he had been trying to “light” his shoes.

Al Madadi was immediately restrained by air marshals aboard the plane. Meanwhile, two fighter jets were scrambled and intercepted the United Airlines Boeing 757, which was carrying 157 passengers and six crew members.
When the plane landed in Denver airport law enforcement officials meet the plane and Al-Madadi, a third secretary at the Qatari Embassy in Washington, was detained for questioning.

No explosives were found on the diplomat, and law enforcement officials told the AP that it was apparent that Al Madadi did not mean to cause any harm.

Diplomats in the US are privileged to diplomatic immunity from prosecution and if US authorities wish to pursue charges against Al Madadi they will need to obtain permission from Qatar.

A senior US State Department official told AP that it was likely Al Madadi would be expelled from the US.

[Dodo56]

I don't know which appals me more, the elevated state of paranoia that passes for normality these days or the stupidity of anyone who provokes it.

[wizo]

Why are people so desperate to smoke ? :ugh:

[Piltdown Man]

Why am I not surprised? At least with Obama in charge Doha is unlikely to be carpet bombed as a punishment.

Unfortunately, we'll never really find out what happened. Those involved probably reckon they saved the Western World and the guy who started it will just quietly leave. Have we learnt anything from this? Well it depends who's doing the learning - Team America, World Police mentality appears to be very prevalent amongst "security" personnel. As they call the shots, standby for a re-run in the near future. After all, we can't be too careful, can we?

PM

[sitigeltfel]

Why are people so desperate to smokeYou have to remember that smokers are drug addicts, no different to those hooked by other narcotics. The only reason that smoking and drinking are tolerated is that they are good sources of revenue for governments.

[Huck]

Team America, World Police mentality appears to be very prevalent amongst "security" personnel.

Maybe they read the 9/11 Commission's report.

There were folks that did not exhibit that mentality that day, and later wished they did.....

[Low Flier]

The idiot clearly made an inappropriate joke.

So what were the F-16s for? To shoot down the airliner if he successfully lit the laces of his Gucci brogues?

[paull]

Perhaps the lighting of shoelaces is a subtle plot to identify the air marshals so that his pals a couple of rows back can take them out and THEN go on to hijack the plane... Hence the fighter escort. ;)

Just joking guys...

[baggersup]

If he was smoking in the loo, why didn't a smoke alarm go off? Every safety briefing says that there are alarms in the lav and tampering with them is illegal etc.

No news story has mentioned smoke alarms. Only that pax thought they smelled smoke.

[Magplug]

The Americans are sh!t-scared of their own shadows. Anyone of a dusky appearance doing something out of the ordinary is likely to get a very scared police officer screaming at him and waving a gun in his face.

This guy was lucky not to get his brains blown out 'as a precautionary measure'. Americans only recognise the significance of diplomatic immunity when it suits them....Rather like their own stance on war-crimes. In 2002 George W.Bush formally suspended the USA's signature to the Rome Treaty of the International Criminal Court to ensure that no US citizen could ever be tried for war-crimes in The Hague. Hence the USA is accountable to nobody but themselves for their activities outside their borders..... Hardly the viewpoint of a mature developed nation! A cynic might say that a scared population are much more malleable to the wishes of their government... who knows.

Perhaps in 2002 GWB had some overseas adventure in mind ?

[baggersup]

Believe me, I say this with deep understanding of the ire that some feel about the general things the U.S. gets up to.

But until the Citigroup building and another of them on the Docklands has planes from LHR flown into them and another into Parliament or the UK equivalent to the Pentagon, it's hard for others to understand the undue "skittish"-ness.

Worse, if you saw it as I did on 9/11 up close and in person at the Pentagon.

And then the nutty Detroit thing. We are just overly sensitive on our own soil after all of that when it comes to miscreants in aluminum tubes doing bizarre things.

And if folks had been as militant as you are suggesting about waving guns in faces of dusky folks, an army major professing deep hatred couldn't have been ignored so long by his chain of command and colleagues, due to PC before he killed two dozen on an army base in the name of allah..

If anything, we are as much caught up in the PC brigade as the UK is, when it comes to stepping in before disaster.

[Jackonicko]

Diplomatic Immunity would seem to be an unhelpful anachronism in cases like these.

Of course diplomats should be held accountable for such behaviour.

Italy Seeks Extradition Of 22 CIA Operatives - washingtonpost.com (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/11/AR2005111102065.html)

Oh, wait...........

[RevMan2]

If he was smoking in the loo, why didn't a smoke alarm go off?

I'm told that one exhales into the sink with the plug open to create negative pressure.....

[West Coast]

If one is willing to smoke illegally in the lav it's not a stretch to believe they would cover thier tracks by illegally disabling the smoke detector.

[Magplug]

@baggersup...

Unfortunately the Americans have yet to learn the lessons of Europe in the 60's / 70's / 80's / 90's... We lived with the threat of terrorism from the IRA, Baader Mienhof, PLO and Brigado Rosso et al. If you let these people change your way of life then they have won. Life must continue as close to possible as normal.

@jackonicko

Numbers of diplomats in a country's mission are the subject of bilateral agreement. Although the odd trade attaché may not be all he appears to be it is rather difficult to hide 22 intelligence operatives within the normal diplomatic staff. Any member of the agreed diplomatic staff who enjoys immunity that is caught in activities inconsistent with diplomatic position will be expelled. That of course will trigger a tit-for-tat expulsion on the other side to protest their innocence...... And so on.....

Of course what you get away with on the pretext of the USA's 'War Of Terror' in partership with local LEA's is quite another thing.

[Lrjetcap]

I'm wondering where over the US he was in the bathroom.....surely they werent on the initial descent into DEN. But how far do you continue the flight? Even if the marshals had him cuffed, you have 2 F-16's on your wing all the way to your pt of intended landing......interesting choice.

[Dushan]

The Americans are sh!t-scared of their own shadows.

This from a a country with the highest number of cameras per capita?

[West Coast]

Unfortunately the Americans have yet to learn the lessons of Europe in the 60's / 70's / 80's / 90's... We lived with the threat of terrorism from the IRA, Baader Mienhof, PLO and Brigado Rosso et al. If you let these people change your way of life then they have won. Life must continue as close to possible as normal.


Good lord, the guy was breaking the law, said he was trying to light his shoes on fire. Those on the scene make a decision to detain the man given his actions and statements. He was later released. Life did continue as close to possible as normal.

Don't be a bunch of drama queens. Don't extrapolate anything to some larger context.

He broke the law if the reports are true. That of itself should cause the detention even if the yahoo was from Des Moines let alone elsewhere.

[overthewing]

But until the Citigroup building and another of them on the Docklands has planes from LHR flown into them and another into Parliament or the UK equivalent to the Pentagon, it's hard for others to understand the undue "skittish"-ness.

I suppose the UK's experience of explosive destruction is limited. Just the Blitz, WW2, the IRA and various middle-eastern parties. I seem to remember year upon year of having bits of London go up in a bang, or being rushed out of shops, tube stations and theatres because there had been a bomb threat, an experience not familiar to most Americans.

The UK's main response was to remove public litter bins. If only we'd know how to overreact properly!

[West Coast]

Shooting an innocent electrician in the aftermath of the London bombings really doesn't play into the stiff upper lip too cool for you approach you would like to believe.

All those CCTV's, a bit more than removing the rubbish bins but you're entrenched in your version of a cool response.

[ACA856]

Paul L posted
"Perhaps the lighting of shoelaces is a subtle plot to identify the air marshals so that his pals a couple of rows back can take them out and THEN go on to hijack the plane... Hence the fighter escort. http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/src:www.pprune.org/get/images/smilies/wink2.gif
Just joking guys..."

I don't understand why both of the 2 air marshalls on the flight were *both* required to sit with the idiot and give up their identity as marshalls - his offence was smoking and being an idiot with his comments. This happens almost everyday.

One (1) of the marshalls could have identified himself, gagged him, tied him up to a seat and kept an eye on him - leaving another marshall unidentified and ready to act if something else were to happen. What if, as Paul L suggests, his pals *were* waiting to see who the marshalls were before making a move. I suggest being over-zealous comprimised the level of security for the remainder of the flight.

I know, it's easy to be the arm chair critic....but I have seen a pax get busted for smoking on a flight into KLAS in 2006, 2 marshalls did not sit with the passenger for the remainder of the flight and no F16 escort.

Maybe I am missing something here?

Rob.

[Carbon Bootprint]

I know, it's easy to be the arm chair critic....but I have seen a pax get busted for smoking on a flight into KLAS 4 in 2006, 2 marshalls did not sit with the passenger for the remainder of the flight and no F16 escort.

Maybe I am missing something here?



Well, perhaps the KLAS smoker did not joke about attempting to light his shoelaces just three months after a high-profile bombing attempt. Being Caucasian would have been a plus. :O

Were marshalls even aboard? I don't believe there are enough sky marshalls to cover every flight in the US. On the other hand, if I remember correctly, one of the stipulations of reopening KDCA after 9/11 (in addition to the 30-minute potty rule) was that all flights in and out were to have sky marshalls aboard. Whilst other aspects of the marshall programme are understandably classified I believe that aspect was well publicised.

Whether or not that's still the case I don't know and is also I'm sure "classified."

[Hotel Tango]

Nail on the head ACA856. Goes to show how brainless these guys are! Then again, maybe there were 6 sky marshalls. It helps make up the load factors for show :E

[ACA856]

"maybe there were 6 sky marshalls" - I hope so for the safety of other people not smoking.

"perhaps the KLAS smoker did not joke about attempting to light his shoelaces" - true, it was a large pale-white woman who could not wait for a smoke 2 hours into a 3 hour flight...and burst in to tears when the flight attendant told her she would be met by the authorities in KLAS. There goes the gambling money :-)

[Airbubba]

Turns out the guy was indeed on official business:

(CBS/ AP) A Qatari diplomat who sparked a bomb scare after sneaking a smoke in an airplane bathroom was traveling for a consular visit to see an imprisoned al Qaeda sleeper agent.

A State Department official and another person close to the matter say Mohammed Al-Madadi was going to meet Ali Al-Marri for an official visit. Consular officials frequently visit foreigners held in the United States to make sure they are being treated well.

An administration official tells CBS News State Department reporter Charles Wolfson that Al-Marri, an al Qaeda member picked up after 9/11, is the only enemy combatant not being held at Guantanamo Bay because he was arrested in the United States. The U.S. government cut a plea agreement with him, which involved jail time, and he is now in prison in Colorado.


Qatari Diplomat Was to Meet Jailed Terrorist - CBS News (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/04/08/national/main6375465.shtml)

[Huck]

NBC is reporting that not only did the man make his offhand remark, he refused to give up his lighter.

I'm usually the first to complain about the idiocy of the TSA. But this response seems about right.

Go ahead, make your criticisms, your hindsight is 20/15.....

[Dushan]

A State Department official and another person close to the matter say Mohammed Al-Madadi was going to meet Ali Al-Marri for an official visit. Consular officials frequently visit foreigners held in the United States to make sure they are being treated well.

Now maybe they'll share a cell.

[baggersup]

I wasn't discounting any of the "explosive" past that the Uk has endured. I've lived in the UK throughout childhood and shuttled between the U.S. and family near Manchester and London. In fact, was in Stockport during the Manchester IRA bombing. Went back there last summer to view the famous "red mail box" and glad it was left there! And hadn't been there since the revitalization of the centre, now filled of course with shopping WAGs..

Also used to take the Soiutheast line to Greenwich (yeah before DLR, sigh), and the Docklands explosion site was visible in the distance.

These things are old history in the UK, but the reason the U.S. is probably reacting this way is it's a newer phenomenon, we are their prime target right now with the UK and it's just too recent to have become relaxed about it yet, as a law enforcement concept or within those on the airplanes who see strange things happening.

So folks are edgy.

[Capot]

Pot - Kettle here. No. (#) 2.


The Americans are sh!t-scared of their own shadows. Anyone of a dusky appearance doing something out of the ordinary is likely to get a very scared police officer screaming at him and waving a gun in his face.

Or, if you're in London's Underground and of a dusky appearance doing nothing very much out of the ordinary, 5 of the Met's finest firing into your head at 50cm range. Or something like that.

Give me a break, Magplug. Badly-trained trigger-happy thugs masquerading as law-enforcement officers and ****-scared of their own shadows exist in most countries in the world including the USA and Britain.

Try carrying a parcel with a table leg in it down a London Street.

[What the Fug]

One of the reason why we don't want cops with guns in the UK , is we have seen what the armed ones are capable of, and they are supposed to be the elite.

[radeng]

You got it right, there, Fug

[TightSlot]

Take it to JetBlast Please