Thread: CNN - Another plane surrounded by cops in Detroit

Another plane, from Amsterdam to Detroit, due to unruly passenger. Also flight 253 (daily Northwest flight). Crew requested emergency help, passenger was verbally disruptive.

Quite a coincidence... You still think the system is working Janet?


BREAKING: The pilot of Northwest Airlines flight 253 --the same flight number and airline as the plane involved in the failed terrorism attack on Christmas Day -- requested emergency help today, AP reports.

The plane has landed in Detroit and was surrounded by fire units.

Gov't sources tell CNN a passenger aboard the flight from Amsterdam to Detroit spent about an hour in the restroom, then became disruptive. Delta described the passenger as being "verbally abusive."

A law enforcement official tells AP that the man is Nigerian and has been taken into custody. The man posed no security risk to the plane, a law enforcement official also tells AP.

White House spokesman Bill Burton offered the following statement: “The President was notified shortly after 9:00 a.m. Hawaiian time of the incident regarding an unruly passenger on the flight arriving in Detroit by NSS chief of staff Denis McDonough. The President stressed the importance of maintaining heightened security measures for all air travel and gave instructions to set up another secure teleconference briefing as soon as possible.â€

Why Detroit don't they realize it is full of Moslems

I thought the same thing Richard but maybe the radicals don't give a d_m about normal Muslims. Maybe there are radicals on the ground waiting for the Really Big Sky Show.

I saw Janet on TV this morning and honestly she has NO clue as to what she is dealing with or how to deal with them.She seems afraid she may offend someone.

Originally Posted by USPatriot

I thought the same thing Richard but maybe the radicals don't give a d_m about normal Muslims. Maybe there are radicals on the ground waiting for the Really Big Sky Show.

I saw Janet on TV this morning and honestly she has NO clue as to what she is dealing with or how to deal with them.She seems afraid she may offend someone.

Janet is NOT equipped to do the job that Homeland Security demands of her. Sometimes you have to offend alot of people in order to make the country safer. The job to secure the country and keep it safe is WAY over her head.

The suspect, apparently another Nigerian, locked himself into the lavaratory for about an hour, after roaming the plane, from what Fox was reporting. But apparently, this passenger was apparently ill and no explosives were found. No big deal, according to the feds, but I sure as pudding would want to know what the passenger was ill from. And, of course, MSM is going to let this story die, especially when some popular person has been found to be having an affair.

Statement by Department of Homeland Security Press Secretary Sara Kuban

Release Date: December 27, 2009

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
Contact: 202-282-8010

"A passenger on today's Northwest flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit spent an unusually long time in the aircraft lavatory. Due to this unusual behavior, the airline notified TSA and the agency directed the flight to taxi to a remote area upon landing to be met by law enforcement and DHS. The passenger in question, a Nigerian national, was removed from the flight and interviewed by the FBI; indications at this time are that the individual's behavior is due to legitimate illness, and no other suspicious behavior or materials have been found. Though this does not appear at this time to be a security incident, in an abundance of caution, the aircraft was fully screened, with negative results, and all baggage is being rescreened before the aircraft taxis to the gate."

This page was last reviewed/modified on December 27, 2009.

http://www.dhs.gov/ynews/releases/pr_1261951722500.shtm

New Detroit scare declared 'non-serious'

December 27, 2009 4:27 p.m. EST

(CNN) -- A security alert aboard a Northwest Airlines jet ended Sunday after investigators determined the incident -- the second in two days involving a Detroit, Michigan-bound flight -- was "non-serious," federal authorities said.

The crew of Northwest Flight 253 reported a "verbally disruptive" passenger Sunday and requested police meet the plane when it arrived from the Netherlands, the airline told CNN. The man was questioned by police after the plane landed in Detroit early Sunday afternoon.

The Amsterdam-to-Detroit flight is the same one targeted Friday in what prosecutors called a failed attempt to blow up a jetliner. Sandra Berchtold, a spokeswoman for the Joint Terrorism Task Force in Detroit, said Sunday's alert was caused by a passenger who "spent a lengthy time in the restroom."

"This raised concerns, so an alert was raised," she said. "JTTF investigated, and the investigation shows that this was a non-serious incident and all is clear at this point."

The passenger spent about an hour in the bathroom and got upset when he was questioned by the crew of the flight from Amsterdam, Netherlands, according to government sources. Law enforcement agents questioned the man Sunday.

The jet had the same designation -- Flight 253 -- as the one on which a Nigerian man is accused of attempting to set off an explosive device Friday, said Scott Wintner, a spokesman for the Wayne County Airport Authority. Winter told CNN the flight "requested emergency assistance and was pulled aside upon arrival in Detroit."

The jet was taken a long distance from the terminal and "completely engulfed" by emergency vehicles and heavily armed police once it landed, said Don Graham, who was waiting for relatives to arrive at the airport.

The flight arrived about 12:34 p.m., said Susan Elliott, a spokeswoman for Delta Air Lines, which owns Northwest. The 257 passengers were allowed to leave the aircraft about an hour after the jet landed, she said.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/12/27/mic ... gletoolbar

Detroit-Bound Airline Passenger Was Ill, Not a Threat, Sources Say

Sunday, December 27, 2009
MyFoxDetroit.com

Dec. 27: Police surround a plane at Detroit's Metro Airport after a Northwest Airlines pilot reported a disturbance on his flight before landing.
Police removed an airline passenger Sunday following a disruption on the same Detroit-bound flight that was subject to a failed bomb attack on Christmas Day.

An FBI spokeswoman in Detroit said Sunday's incident turned out to be nothing serious.

"Today (Sunday) at Detroit Metro Airport, the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) responded to a report from an incoming flight from Amsterdam where a passenger spent a lengthy time in the restroom. This raised concerns so an alert was raised. JTTF investigated and the investigation shows that this was a non-serious incident and all is clear at this point," the FBI spokeswoman told Fox News.

A law enforcement official said the man removed from a Sunday flight to Detroit posed no security risk to the plane.

The official says the passenger was taken into custody after becoming verbally disruptive on landing. Subsequent interviews by investigators determined he was a businessman who became ill during the flight.

A source confirmed this report to Fox News, saying the passenger was indeed sick and that the incident appears to be "a non-event at this point."

Authorities did not find any sign of explosives.

A federal law enforcement official said the man, who was from Nigeria, was interviewed by authorities and the aircraft was swept. But the official said the incident was all an incredible coincidence.

DHS Press Secretary Sara Kuban issued a statement on the incident: "A passenger on today's Northwest flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit spent an unusually long time in the aircraft lavatory. Due to this unusual behavior, the airline notified TSA and the agency directed the flight to taxi to a remote area upon landing to be met by law enforcement and DHS."

"The passenger in question, a Nigerian national, was removed from the flight and interviewed by the FBI; indications at this time are that the individual's behavior is due to legitimate illness, and no other suspicious behavior or materials have been found."

"Though this does not appear at this time to be a security incident, in an abundance of caution, the aircraft was fully screened, with negative results, and all baggage is being rescreened before the aircraft taxis to the gate."

Several police vehicles and a police command unit had surrounded a Northwest Airlines plane at Detroit's Metro Airport Sunday after the pilot on the flight requested emergency help. The passenger reportedly became verbally disruptive and barricaded himself in the bathroom for an hour.

Two sources tell Fox News that the suspect boarded a plan in Lagos, Nigeria, with no baggage, and said the FBI has already sent an e-mail alert to other federal agencies notifying them of the incident.

A source told Fox News that the man taken into custody at the Detroit airport was a Nigerian national in his 30s. Federal officials know who the suspect is, but won't provide any more details.

Detroit's Metro Airport spokesman John Wintner said there was a report of suspicious activity on the Delta/Northwest Airlines Flight 253 from Amsterdam Sunday. That is the same flight that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a 23-year-old Nigerian man, was suspected of attempting to blow up over Detroit on Christmas Day.

White House spokesman Bill Burton said President Obama was notified of the disturbance Sunday as federal officials began reviewing airline security measures.

"The President was notified shortly after 9:00 a.m. Hawaiian time of the incident regarding an unruly passenger on the flight arriving in Detroit by NSS chief of staff Denis McDonough," Burton said.

"The President stressed the importance of maintaining heightened security measures for all air travel and gave instructions to set up another secure teleconference briefing as soon as possible."

All 257 passengers and 12 crew were deplaned safely, said Delta spokeswoman Susan Elliott. The flight landed in Detroit at 12:34 p.m. Sunday.

The plane was moved to a remote location at the airport so authorities can conduct additional screening, Reuters reported.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,581232,00.html

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