Northwest Airlines Flight 253

The attempted bombing of Northwest Airlines Flight 253 occurred on December 25, 2009, aboard an Airbus A330 as it prepared to land at Detroit Metropolitan Airport following a transatlantic flight from Amsterdam. Attributed to the terrorist organization al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the act was undertaken by 23-year-old Nigerian national Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab using chemical explosives sewn to his underwear. These circumstances, including the date, led to Abdulmutallab being commonly nicknamed either the "Underwear bomber" or "Christmas Day bomber" by American media outlets. If successful, it could have been the deadliest plane crash in the history of Michigan, surpassing Northwest Airlines Flight 255.

The event was the second airliner bombing attempt in the United States in eight years, following the 2001 American Airlines Flight 63 bombing attempt. If successful, the attack would have surpassed American Airlines Flight 191 as the deadliest airplane crash on U.S. soil and tied Iran Air Flight 655 as the eighth-deadliest of all time. It was also the second event in 2009 involving an Airbus A330 (after the June 1 crash of Air France Flight 447), and the final operational occurrence for Northwest Airlines (preceding that airline's merger with Delta Air Lines the following month).

For his role in the plot, Abdulmutallab was convicted as a civilian criminal in U.S. federal court and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. AQAP leader Anwar al-Awlaki, who reportedly inspired Abdulmutallab and "masterminded" the attack, was killed about two years later as the target of a drone strike in Yemen.

Bombing attempt

Flight 253 was serviced by an Airbus A330-323E (registered N820NW, serial number 0859) transporting 279 passengers, 8 flight attendants, and 3 pilots. The plane departed Amsterdam around 08:45 local time and was scheduled to arrive in Detroit at 11:40 EST.

As the plane approached Detroit, passengers aboard the flight recalled seeing Abdulmutallab enter a lavatory for about 20 minutes. After returning to his window seat at 19A (near the fuel tanks and wing), he complained of an upset stomach and was seen pulling a blanket over himself.

About 20 minutes prior to landing, he attempted to ignite a small explosive device consisting of plastic explosive powder sewn to his underwear, by injecting it with acid from a syringe to cause a chemical reaction. While a small explosion and fire occurred, the device failed to detonate properly. Passengers heard popping noises resembling firecrackers, smelled an odor, and saw the suspect's pants, leg and the wall of the plane on fire.

There were no air marshals on the flight, but several passengers and crew noticed the explosion. Dutch passenger Jasper Schuringa, seated in the same row, saw Abdulmutallab sitting and visibly shaking. He tackled and overpowered him. Schuringa saw the suspect's pants were open, and that he was holding a burning object. "I pulled the object from him and tried to extinguish the fire with my hands and threw it away," said Schuringa, who suffered burns to his hands. Meanwhile, flight attendants extinguished the fire with a fire extinguisher and blankets, and a passenger removed the partially melted, smoking syringe from Abdulmutallab's hand.

Schuringa grabbed the suspect, and pulled him to the business class area at the front of the plane. A passenger reported that Abdulmutallab, though burned "quite severely" on his leg, seemed "very calm," and like a "normal individual." Schuringa stripped off the suspect's clothes to look for additional weapons, and he and a crew member restrained Abdulmutallab with plastic handcuffs. "He was staring into nothing" and shaking, said Schuringa.

Passengers applauded as Schuringa walked back to his seat. The suspect was isolated from other passengers until after the plane landed. A flight attendant asked Abdulmutallab what he had in his pocket, and the suspect replied: "Explosive device." When the attack triggered a fire indicator light within the cockpit, the pilot requested rescue and law enforcement personnel. The plane made an emergency landing at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in the Downriver Detroit community of Romulus, Michigan.

The Toronto Star reported that the plane's flight route would have had it over Canadian airspace when the attempted bombing occurred. Representatives of two pilot associations told the Star that Detroit Metro airport would have been the nearest suitable airport at which to attempt an emergency landing.