Thread: Why did security checks fail to spot explosives?

Why did security checks fail to spot explosives?

December 27, 2009 -- Updated 1431 GMT (2231 HKT)
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Failed terrorist attack?

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

* Dutch authorities say normal security procedures were carried out
* Authorities say they would not have picked up secreted powders or liquid
* Secondary checks should pick up similar devices

(CNN) -- The alleged terror incident aboard a passenger flight from Amsterdam to Detroit has raised questions as to how a Nigerian man carried explosives through stringent security measures.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab has been charged with attempting to destroy a passenger plane after he detonated a device on board a jet on Friday.

Authorities in the United States are investigating whether Abdulmutallab had any connections with terrorist organizations or was acting alone.

Airports intensify security after plane attack

With Dutch officials scrutinizing security procedures at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport that allowed the 23-year-old man to smuggle the explosives on the aircraft -- here are some of the key questions still hanging over the incident.

Where did the explosives come from?

The man charged with igniting the device claims he obtained the explosives in Yemen, along with instruction on how to use it. He carried these onto a flight from Lagos, Nigeria, to Amsterdam, Netherlands where he transferred to Northwest Flight 253 to Detroit.

Was he on any security watch lists?

U.S. authorities say they were contacted by the man's father ahead of the attack, but whether he was placed on any so-called No-Fly list maintained by the United States is unclear. Dutch officials say the passenger's name appeared on a manifest supplied by the airline, which was passed to U.S. authorities, who cleared the flight to depart.

Were the proper security checks performed?

Yes, say Dutch authorities, who say he passed through normal procedures and that "security was well-performed." He is known to have passed through a metal detector and his luggage was X-rayed. Extra attention is normally applied to passengers arriving from Nigeria because of concerns over fraud and smuggling. Nevertheless airports around the world have stepped up security procedures in the wake of the incident, increasing pat-downs and secondary searches.

So how did the explosives get through?

Dutch authorities are at pains to point out that if the passenger had powders concealed upon his person or secreted bottles of liquid somewhere else, they certainly would not have been picked up by the metal detector.

Is there any way of detecting these kind of explosives?

A preliminary FBI analysis indicates the device contained PETN, also known as Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate, a highly explosive chemical. Experts say this would have been picked up using a swab commonly used in secondary screening. A body scan, particularly the new 3D imaging scanners being trailed at some airports, would also have spotted something strapped to his body, even in the crotch area.

Why were there no U.S. air marshal security officers on the flight?

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told CNN federal air marshals are not posted on all flights. She said this was not due to budgetary constraints, but down to standard procedures, which see marshals posted randomly on certain routes.

CNN's Jeanne Meserve, Richard Quest and Barry Neild contributed to this report.

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/12/27 ... index.html

Probe of botched terror attack focuses on suspect, screening

December 28, 2009 -- Updated 1533 GMT (2333 HKT)

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

* Prosecutors want DNA samples from suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab
* Samples needed to link Abdulmutallab to device found on plane on Christmas
* Device had enough explosive power to blow a hole in plane, source says
* Abdulmutallab released from hospital after treatment for burns, held in secret location

Romulus, Michigan (CNN) -- Prosecutors want to get DNA samples from a man who is accused of plotting to blow up a flight carrying 300 passengers on Christmas Day.

But a Monday hearing where prosecutors were planning to seek DNA samples from Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab has been cancelled, said Gina Balaya, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office.

The DNA sample is needed so prosecutors can conclusively tie Abdulmutallab to evidence found on the Northwest Airlines plane.

A preliminary FBI analysis found that there was pentaerythritol tetranitrate, known as PETN, in the device Abdulmutallab allegedly carried aboard the flight from Amsterdam, Netherlands, to Detroit.

The amount of explosive involved was sufficient to blow a hole in the side of the aircraft, a source with knowledge of the investigation told CNN Sunday.

On Sunday, authorities focused their investigation on how Abdulmutallab, 23, allegedly smuggled the explosives aboard the flight and who might have helped him.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told CNN's "State of the Union" there was no indication so far that the failed attack was part of a larger international terror plot. Asked about a possible connection to al Qaeda, Napolitano answered that investigations were continuing.

The Homeland Security Department boosted the number of air marshals by cutting vacations and leave, and pulled in marshals from instructional and administrative posts, a department official told CNN on Sunday.

Security screening has been increased in the wake of the incident, with different procedures at different airports to prevent predictability, Napolitano said.

"While we continue to investigate the source of this incident, the traveling public should be very confident of what we're doing now," she said.

Meanwhile Sunday, another Northwest plane on the same route and with the same flight number was met by police at the Detroit airport after the crew raised an alert over a passenger who "spent a lengthy time in the restroom," said Sandra Berchtold, a spokeswoman for the Joint Terrorism Task Force.

The second incident turned out to be unrelated to terrorism, officials said, attributing the passenger's prolonged time in the restroom to "sickness."

That passenger was released from custody and allowed to take a connecting flight.

Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian citizen, had a multiple-entry visa to the United States. He was listed last month on a broad watch list of 550,000 potential terror threats.

Obama ordered a review of how Abdulmutallab avoided extra scrutiny.

Some members of Congress also questioned how the incident could have happened.

"We ought to, in our age, be able to put 500,000 names on a computer and have everybody who's trying to come to the U.S. go through that list," Sen. Joe Lieberman, a Connecticut independent, said on "FOX News Sunday."

Republican Rep. Peter King of New York told the CBS program "Face the Nation" that the case appeared to be "a failure of the system."

"So let's honestly address that and admit the system did not work and find ways that we can move people off that 500,000 [-name] list onto at least a secondary screening list," King said.

Both the House and Senate plan to hold hearings on the incident.

Do you feel safe in the skies?

People on the Christmas Day flight described a chaotic scene that began with a popping sound as the plane was making its final approach, followed by flames erupting at Abdulmutallab's seat.

The suspect was moved Sunday from a hospital where he was treated for his burns to an undisclosed location in the custody of the U.S. Marshal's Service.

He is charged with attempting to destroy the plane and placing a destructive device on the aircraft.

Abdulmutallab's trip originated in Lagos, Nigeria. There, he did not check in a bag as he flew on a KLM flight to Amsterdam, said Harold Demuren, director-general of Nigeria's Civil Aviation Authority.

Demuren said the suspect underwent regular screening -- walking through a metal detector and having his shoulder bag scanned through an X-ray machine.

He then underwent "secondary screening" at the boarding gate for the KLM flight, according to officials of the Dutch airline.

In Amsterdam, Abdulmutallab boarded the Northwest Airlines flight to the United States.

The Netherlands' national coordinator for counterterrorism told CNN that Abdulmutallab had gone through "normal security procedures" in Amsterdam before boarding the flight to Detroit.

The father of the suspect recently contacted the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria with concerns his son had "become radicalized" and was planning something, a senior U.S. administration official said.

"After his father contacted the embassy recently, we coded his visa file so that, had he attempted to renew his visa months from now, it would have triggered an in-depth review of his application," an official said.

In addition, the embassy -- which has law enforcement, security and intelligence representatives on staff -- reported the father's concern to other agencies, the official said.

The father's information also was forwarded to the National Counter-Terrorism Center, and Abdulmutallab was added to a general watch list, a senior administration official said. But the official said "the info on him was not deemed specific enough to pull his visa or put him on a no-fly list."

In Britain, where the suspect studied engineering at a London university, police spent a second day Sunday searching Abdulmutallab's last known address.

Scotland Yard detectives also spent part of the the day interviewing Michael Rimmer, a former high-school teacher who described Abdulmutallab as a "very devout" Muslim who had once expressed sympathy for Afghanistan's Taliban insurgency during a classroom discussion.

But Rimmer, who taught Abdulmutallab at a school in the west African nation of Togo, said it was not clear whether the then-teenager was simply playing devil's advocate during the class.

A federal security bulletin obtained by CNN said Abdulmutallab claimed the explosive device used Friday "was acquired in Yemen along with instructions as to when it should be used."

Yemeni authorities said they will take immediate action once the attempted bombing suspect's alleged link to the country is officially identified.

CNN's Elise Labott, Jeanne Meserve, Carol Cratty, Richard Quest, Nic Robertson, Christian Purefoy, Tom Cohen, Mike Ahlers, Alona Rivord and Miguel Susana contributed to this report.

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/12/28 ... index.html